Project Crucifix
by Noah Ariston
Summary: A Story of love between a trainer and his female Lucario, intertwined with Project Crucifix, the creation of horrible beasts, one of which who escaped, he wanders an incomplete project. The world is broken, the lives of these people will never be the same
1. Chapter One: A New Life Begins

There was pain. There was nothing but the electric stabbing as nerves, muscle, skin and bone were twisted, and quickly ripped though and re-mended. Bones were being snapped like twigs, and fused back together under extreme heat and pressure.

An LED name-tag on the health monitors beside the operating table displayed the name "Subject14", along with heart rate, blood pressure, brain activity, and numerous other signs of health information.

The room that contained this subject was titanic facility. The walls were cold metal, which had been whitewashed, along with everything else, it had been totally whitewashed. Even the lab tables, chairs, and light fixtures; all an electric shade of bright white.

The room almost seemed like heaven, with all the glowing bright lights, but with the procedure taking place beneath them, was obviously far from it. In the center of this blank operating room was a table, standing out amongst all color white in the room. A steady flow of crimson blood ran though the bottom of the operating table, flowing steadily into a drainage hole. A few drops found their way onto the floor and had been doing so for hours now. There was a rather large pool of blood that had gathered at the feet of the white-cloaked doctors who worked on the subject.

They were far too busy to care, however, they had much more important things to do, like ensure the success of this operation.

Each doctor wore a white hair-net, doctor's coat, and operating mask, they mocked the appearance of angles. They had been silent for hours, only speaking when asking for a tool, or getting information about the operation, each one of them was entirely devoted to succeeding. It was their last shot.

Subjects one through thirteen had died in this process. This operation was known as Stage Six, The Awake Physical Remodification and Alloy Infusion. Because of its numerous failures, the workers in the facility came to regretfully call it "The Execution Stage", for they didn't wast to see their hard work fail, but knew it always would in the grueling process. All subjects prior to Fourteen had all screamed through out the process, their vocal chords had gone horse with agony -- the subject had to be awake in-order to determine if death or brain failure had occurred.

Subjects one through Thirteen had all writhed in pain, screamed in agony as what they believed to be an endless torture of men ripping them apart, and reassembling them, there were no words to describe it, it was hell for them. As the doctors continued to endlessly work on their battered and broken bodies, they would all struggle with every bit of remaining strength to break free, perhaps they'd break a few fingers, but was no use, the doctors weren't willing to take such a risk as the patient breaking free, the Subjects were heavily restrained to the table. Large, leather bands surrounded Subject14's wrists, neck, thighs, and feet, attached to a chain, and hooked to the table. It was not necessary though, Subject14 was still.

Each Subject prior to Fourteen had all failed either before or at Process Six. They had all died, had whatever data and technology recovered from their bodies, and then promptly disposed of.

Subject 14 was an anomaly, he remained silent, still. His respiratory and heart rates all displayed normal levels, purely looking at the monitors, you'd never guess such a brutal operation was taking place on the patient. Subject14 laid on his back, looking up at the doctors as the worked on him, his deep, hypnotic, green eyes traced over the figures of the men and women working on him.

Not a single doctor would make eye contact with him, he could not figure out why.

Perhaps some were scared of the Subject being silent, it was certainly an odd change of events, perhaps some felt so ashamed about the work that they were doing that they weren't able to look the patient in the eyes, or perhaps still, some were just too caught up in their work.

Subject14 remained silent, until the shrill sound of a flat-lining patient quickly filled the room, the health monitors had indicated that Subject14's heart had stopped, and he wouldn't be coming back. The alert grabbed the attention of the instantly crestfallen "doctors", just like that, it was over. All of the doctor's eyes met with the health monitor's screen, they all stopped, and let the final wave of failure wash over them. With a sigh of anguish and disgust alike, one doctor looked down at the dead Subject -- he pitied the poor beast they had spent years, money, and resources on. All gone, again. Stage Six was just too harsh for organic creatures to endure.

"Damn-it, there goes our last chance." One of the doctors said, removing his bloodstained rubber gloves in an obviously annoyed and aggressive fashion, tossing them to the side. He removed his operational instruments and crimsoned tools on the cold metal tray beside him, it was time to pack up, game over.

"What? Were you really expecting success here?" another of the doctors looked up and replied, his remark seemed to peek the attention of his surrounding workers. "All Subjects in Project Crucifix have died, so it's obvious organic beings cant handle these drastic changes to their physiology. I told you all this when I joined, it was a waste of time and money, no one listened to me... I only joined out of curiosity...". He trailed off in an almost pouting fashion, everyone expected the Subjects to fail, but Project Crucifix seemed so promising from the beginning... It was a chance to work with the world's top doctors, with the most expensive and advanced technology money could buy to work on such an amazing Project. Too bad it was all gone now, the high hopes that the doctors had for Project Crucifix were down the drain.

The pouting doctor received mix reactions from his coworkers, even though he tried to sound shoddy and calm, it was obvious he was more furious at the death of this patient than anyone. A few of the doctors shot him glares, some gave nods, as if they agreed with him, and others still ignored his complaints, as they wouldn't change a thing.

The subject died, they always do, during the fatal Stage Six.

It was almost ironic, each doctor in a room, around a patient that had just died under their care, each one of the were saddened and angered by that, but not for the loss of life. They wanted the Subject to survive so they would be successes, their hopes were for their own selfish purposes.

This was the final patient. The last chance of success was now gone, Stage Six had claimed another life. The monitor was turned off, ending the depressing monotone flat-line sound, and the doctors began to disperse.

"Time of death; 6:23 PM," pronounced one of the female doctors at the base of the operating table. She then removed her surgical mask, and looked down upon the still eyes of the patient one last time. Now that he was no longer alive, her conscious would allow her to look in his eyes. They were beautiful to her, the Subject's eyes were a deep crystal emerald, that seemed to fragment the light around them, they were just so...unusual.

"Bag him, tag him, and get rid of him." Said Dr. Michals, the doctor supervising Stage Six ordered, as he left the room, letting out a sigh of defeat. Dr. Michals pushed open a set of large white steel doors, and exited the room. The sound of the doors slamming shut shook the dream apart.

Jolting awake, sitting up in a cold sweat, a traveler awoke out of his resting place beneath a dead tree, to find he had just experienced a horrible nightmare. He lay with his legs outstretched, leaning against the base of the lifeless tree, the ground beneath him was damp, and cold. He placed a hand on his forehead, his palms completely covered in surgical tape, and sat up. He looked upon the world surrounding him, and took in his surroundings.

He recognized nothing, he was alone, beneath a dead tree, in a cold, damp forrest. The harsh wind-chill of the winter hissed past his face. He was nowhere, he hadn't an idea of how he had got there, who he was, or where he was going. His eyes traced over his surroundings, he felt no panic, he felt no fear... he couldn't feel anything. He didn't know what to feel, he was in an unfamiliar place, by himself, with no memory of his existence. He didn't even know if he was still dreaming or not.

His only memory was the nightmare he had just had.

The man inhaled a small breath, and sat himself up. He stood upon shaky legs, and began to walk.

--

"Cheese!" Everyone happily said as they presented their diplomas and licenses to the tear-jerked mothers furiously snapping pictures out of disposable cameras. The sounds of flashes and cameras was almost overwhelming as their light filled the Event Hall of the Pokemon Trainer's School. The room was large enough, with the students, now graduates, standing at the exit for one last picture together before they all left on their journey.

The graduates held their fake smiles as assorted mothers took pictures vertical, then length-wise, then vertical again, then moving closer and further away, and finally making up excuses to take more pictures, like "Oh honey you blinked" or "That one is going to come out blurry". But eventually, the finished and the graduates could relax their face muscles, the feeling was like finally relaxing your jaw after the dentist removes the metal clamp that holds it open.

"Finally..." Some muttered as the swarm of mothers departed, each student then began to walk towards their respective parents to get their congratulations of finally graduating the Pokemon Trainers School.

It had been tough but school was finally over, each graduate now knew enough to begin training pokemon.

A boy of about 16 years of age, ran a hand though his short black hair as he removed his graduate cap and began searching for his parents

"Noah!" He heard his mother cry, "over here sweetheart!". He rolled his eyes and began walking over to her.

His name was Noah Ariston, but only his parents called him Noah, everyone else just called him Ariston. He liked going by his last name better, it felt more natural.

Ariston was an average height kid, with short spiky black hair, and an unusual shade of light blue eyes. He had an athletic body, and was about 5'10" in height. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

"I'm so proud of you honey" Mr.Ariston said with the cheeky grin. "I wish your father could've seen this"

Mr.Ariston was one of the countries best doctors, and was called away on urgent business to Snowpoint City, which was a long trip away from their house in Sandgem Town.

"He would be here if he could, you know." Mr.Ariston said trying to reassure her son.

"Yeah, I know, he's got an important job." Noah replied, not sure if he really believed that.

"Lets head on home, okay?" She asked him.

"Alright."

Noah said his final goodbyes to his friends at the Pokemon Academy. He said goodbye to his best friend, Shane, who had longer black hair always seemed more relaxed than everyone else, he didn't really seem to care that much that he was going to be leaving on his journey away from his parents.

He also met up with another of his best friends Conti. His name was actually Michael Contios, but people just called him Conti. Conti wasn't the smartest of kids in the world, in fact, this kid was pretty damn stupid, but he was one of the nicest kids Noah had ever met. It was impossible to not like Conti, no one had anything bad to say about him.

After numerous other goodbyes, some friends and parents waved goodbye to Ariston and he made his way back home for a quick rest before he left.

He was leaving today, to journey across the region and beginning to train Pokemon.

He started packing his dark red backpack with his various supplies. Food, water, medicine, antidotes, and a few empty pokeballs. After making sure everything was packed and ready to go, he went up to his room to find his restless Pokemon.

He'd caught this little Shinx off of Route 201 a year ago by complete accident. The little guy came up to Ariston smelling food. Ariston's backpack was on the ground, he was running to Twinleaf town to visit some friends, and he was taking a quick break.

The Shinx managed to find his way inside of Ariston's backpack, and while sniffing around for food managed to activate a pokeball and get himself trapped inside.

Ariston almost had a heart attack when he later found a live pokemon inside one of his seemingly empty pokeballs. Ariston tried to release the little guy back into the wild, but he seemed to want to stay with Ariston, so he just kept Shinx inside his house until he was legally allowed to train him after he graduated.

"Today's the day, big guy" Ariston said ironically to his small Shinx who was under his bed wrestling with a loose sock. Shinx always found ways to entertain himself.

Ariston didn't really expect much out of his Shinx, he was really more of a house pet than a Pokemon suited for battle.

Regardless of what he thought, he interrupted the wrestling match between Shinx and his sock and gathered him inside of his pokeball.

He said his drawn out goodbyes to his mother as she was reluctant to let him leave, but finally he managed to make his way out of his house (as his mother watched from the window) and start walking to the exit of town.

He was relieved, he was on his own now, and rather than feeling scared or anxious, Ariston felt relaxed, happy he didn't have to live at home anymore...He was free.

Ariston made his way through the town, heading for the north exit. He passed by other trainers saying goodbyes to friends and family on his way. Lost in his thoughts he accidentally bumped into a young black haired trainer with a tough looking female Gardvoir by his side.

"Sorry, my bad" Ariston said as he regained his focus on what and who he was walking into.

"Don't worry 'bout it." Replied the trainer. Ariston then continued to walk for the north exit.

Ariston idly tossed his pokeball with his Shinx inside of it up and down in his hand, wondering weather or not this little guy could handle himself in battle. He might be making a lot of trips to his town's Pokemon Center before he got anywhere.

After a short while of walking, Ariston finally reached the north exit, which led to Route 202. Ariston let a smile creep over his face as he passed the sign for city limits.

"Ariston!" He heard a male voice yell right as he was about to leave. Ariston sighed a breath of annoyance as he turned around to see who was bothering him now.

It was Dr. Jason Rose, the town's physician and Pokemon breeder. Dr.Rose was Ariston's dad, Mr.Ariston's, best friend since high school. They even went to the same College and Medical School.

Dr.Rose was a young looking fellow, he was about 45, but looked as if he was in his mid 30's. He had short blonde hair, a narrow head, and round glasses. He had the generic doctor look about him. Currently, he was even wearing his doctor coat, as if he just came from work.

"I'm glad I caught you before you left, your dad would have killed him if I didn't, haha." He said in a breathy voice, he had obviously been running.

Ariston never knew Dr.Rose that well, but his father always told him stories of the fun things they did together through out their years of school. His father even told him of how the good Dr.Rose managed to out drink the president of a fraternity in college. Arisotn assumed this guy was pretty cool.

"What's so important?" Ariston asked him.

"Your dad had been planning on this for about two years now, he'd give you this himself, but you know, he's got work to do in Snowpoint." Dr.Rose told him

"Yeah, I know. So what'd he want to give me?" Said Ariston, now expecting something nice as a going away present from his dad.

Dr.Rose reached into the backpack he was carrying and carefully removed a rather large, blue spotted, grey egg.

Dr.Rose wrapped the egg in a soft white towel, and handed it to Ariston.

"This, is what he asked me to give you."

"...An...Egg? What am I supposed to do with this thing? Eat it?" Ariston asked, taken back by the fact his dad left him more of a chore than a present.

"Haha, you really don't want to eat this egg, trust me, I don't know why he wanted to give this to you so bad, really, but he told me I had to make sure you got it, we've had it at my Breeder Range for about two and a half years, and this thing still hasn't hatched," He explained, "he finally told me to give it to you once you left to see if it would hatch on your journey."

"Uhh...Well, I mean, I don't want to drop it or anything...Do you even know what Pokemon will hatch out of it...Is it even a Pokemon egg?" Ariston continued to ask, now examining the egg more closely.

"Yeah, it's a Pokemon egg, though we aren't sure what will hatch out of it, it was found out on Iron Island and shipped here for further study. And as for dropping it, I wouldn't worry about it, it's pretty tough, you'd have to hit it with a hammer to get it to break." Dr.Rose said as he re-zipped his backpack.

"Okay, I guess I can take it with me, if my dad wanted me to so badly.." He said, obviously sounding reluctant.

"Good, and don't worry, it's not going to be like a child when it hatches, it'll be pretty mature, it's been developing in that egg for quite some time."

Reassured now that he wouldn't have to babysit, Ariston gently placed the egg in his backpack, and zipped it closed.

"Alright, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks, Ariston, I'll give your dad a call later and tell him you're taking it with you, he'll be happy to hear it." Dr.Rose said as he turned to walk away.

"Wait, I have one more question," Ariston asked, "Do you know what my dad is doing in Snowpoint?" now talking in a more serious, rather than sarcastic, tone.

"Some sort of project, lots of top doctors are there working on it, all hush-hush kinda stuff, so I can't get any details." He explained, "Which ever it is though, it's big.".

"Alright, thanks. See you later then.".

Dr.Rose gave a waved his hand goodbye as he started walking back to town.

"By the way," Dr.Rose said with out turing around to face Ariston, "Team Galactic is probably in the area, and those people are nothing but murders and criminals, be careful." With out waiting for a response, Dr.Rose walked back to town.

Ariston didn't worry to much about Team Galactic, he didn't think he'd ever cross paths with them, however, Arisotn started to get worried about the kind of work his father was doing, and thoughts of what could be so important to fly all the top doctors to a place as desolate as Snowpoint. These thoughts occupied his mind as he left his hometown, the egg safe and secure in his backpack.

Now outside the city, Ariston released Shinx out of his pokeball and onto the soft dirt. Shinx let out a sigh of relief, and quickly stretched his muscles.

"Ready to go?" Ariston asked, receiving a nod from his Shinx. They then continued to walk down route 202.

--

After about a half hour of walking, Ariston started to notice the growing number of trainers that were around, battling and capturing wild Starly and Bidof.

As Ariston watched some battles, he unknowingly ran into a wild Bidof at his feet, who was trying to act intimidating by growing and standing up on it's hind legs.

Ariston couldn't help but laugh at the stupid looking thing as it continued to growl. He found the Bidof to be a truly ridiculous looking thing, the Bidof's disproportionate features and body parts warranted involuntary laughter from Ariston. Ariston's laughter came even harder when the thing tried to attack with it's massive front teeth.

Ariston's laughter caused Shinx to let out a confused "Nyaa?" as he looked up as his master.

However, Ariston's laughter was cut short as the damn thing clamped onto its legs with it's surprisingly powerful jaw.

"Ow, damnit!" He cried as he shook the thing off of him. The thing had almost put a hole in his favorite jeans. Since it was getting cold out, Ariston had changed into blue-jeans and a blue and grey striped hoodie.

Shinx was quick to jump in front of the thing, FINALLY getting something to fight other than his master's socks. As the Bidof made another run at Ariston's legs, now angry from being laughed at, he got clipped by a high speed Shinx running into it's side, knocking it to the ground.

Shinx looked back to his master, as Ariston displayed an expression of surprise, he never expected Shinx to be able to battle at all.

The Bidof regained it's balance and bared it's teeth at Shinx. Shinx sidestepped as the Bidof made another run at him, and as the Bidof passed him, Shinx managed to grab the Bidof's neck with his teeth. Wrestling with the Bidof on the ground, Shinx continued it's grip on it's neck, and tossed it aside. The Bidof then scurried away, leaving a confident Shinx awaiting his master's praise.

"Wow, Shinx, nice job!" Ariston said with surprise at his "house pet's" strength. Ariston scruffed the fur on Shinx's head, as Shinx let out a relaxed "Nyaa", which Ariston figured to be the "meow" of his species.

Shinx happily trotted at the heels of Ariston as they continued to walk towards the City, occasionally defeating Bidof and Starly along the way.

After a few battles, Shinx started to move more precisely and hit harder, it seemed this little guy was a fast learner.

The city was in sight now, no more than an hours walk. They were quickly making their way along the path of Route 202, when Ariston noticed a large amount of children...with nets...

"Oh god damnit..." Ariston said as he started walking hesitantly towards the children who call themselves "bug catchers".

Shinx gave a confused "Nyaa?" as his master seemed rather angry at having to pass these kids.

"These little kids are unbelievably annoying, Shinx. They catch one goddamn bug Pokemon and suddenly they try and battle every person that comes their way. It's impossible to tolerate these kids...I just hope they don't notice us."

Ariston quickened his pace though out the children infested grass fields hoping to get though undetected. Alas, it's almost as these hyperactive children had Pokemon Trainer Radar, as soon as one realized he was in the area, they immediately wanted to battle him.

"Trainer! You there! I'm a trainer too! Let's battle!" One yelled.

"No thanks." Ariston gave as an annoyed reply.

"You there! Hey I wanna battl--" Another child yell out, but was cut off by Ariston's reply.

"No."

"Hey I just caught these bug pokem--" Yet another said.

"Don't care"

The floodgates were opened, and an increasing number of children ran to him to try and battle.

"Lets battle!"

"No, damnit"

"Hey are you a trainer? Cause I ca-"

"Jesus, no, not battling you."

"How about me?! Hey Trainer!"

"Jesus Christ on a fucking Pogo Stick. No." Ariston finally said.

"I'm. Not. Battling. Any. Of. You." He said, frustrated by their inability to understand this.

There was a silence where all the children started at him, confused as to why he didn't want to battle.

Ariston seemed to have gotten his point across, as they stopped asking.

"HEY!" Ariston heard from behind him as yet another child sprinted at him full speed waving the pokeballs he was carrying over his head. "A TRAINER?! LETS BATTLE!!" The child continued.

Before Ariston could even think of a response, they child sent out a tough looking Kricketot, which appeared ready and willing to fight.

Ariston was suprised by this, usually all these kids have are either Cascoons or the popular Bidof/Starly combo, and they were usually weak, too weak to fight Shinx. Ariston knew that he could hurt or even kill the Pokemon that most of these children had, but they didn't seem to know, or care.

This was the main reason for Ariston refusing to fight these kids, that and they were put-a-nail-in-your-head annoying.

This Kricketot looked pretty tough though, so Ariston decided to let the eager Shinx have some fun.

"Alright, I'll fight just -one- of you. Okay?" Ariston explained, as the children nodded, happily getting to watch an actual Pokemon Trainer in action.

Ariston knew that Kricketot weren't that strong, but they could take a lot of hits.

Ariston leaned down to his Shinx, giving him a little advice before the fight. "Alright Shinx, watch out, Kricketot have some nasty antenna on their head, stay away from them, alright buddy?". Shinx nodded in understanding.

Shinx calmly stepped forward, crouching in a pouncing position. The Kricketot just stood, looking clueless.

Shinx pounced at the bug, trying to land his teeth on the creature, the Kricketot's misleading clueless expression quickly vanished as it rolled forward, under Shinx, and out of the way of it's pounce.

Before Shinx had time to turn around, the Kricketot lunged at him. Shinx was able to react and begin to dodge, but the Kricketot was able to scrape Shinx's side with the antenna on it's head.

"The Kricketot and Kricketune's antenna" Ariston remembered hearing in class, "are actually made up of tiny micro-fractures, which are like tiny spikes and rivets. They can cause great harm if they come in contact with a human or a Pokemon's skin."

Although the hit was slight, Shinx stumbled a little as a tiny amount of blood seeped though his tiny Pokemon's fur.

The Shinx and Kricketot approached each other once again, facing each other, as Shinx cautiously circled around it.

"Way to go Kricketot!" one of the children yelled, as it seemed their friend's Pokemon was doing well.

"Shinx, stay away from those antenna, time your attacks, use your head!" Ariston yelled to help Shinx in his struggle.

Shinx continued to circle around the Kricketot, thinking about what happened last time. The Shinx were a quite smart breed of Pokemon, and had good instincts, which is why Ariston enjoyed having one.

Shinx made up it's mind, and pounced one again at the Kricketot, almost the exact same action as his first attack.

"Not the same thing..." Ariston thought as he expected his Pokemon to be clobbered by the antenna again.

Exactly as before, the Kricketot rolled forward, under Shinx, ready to attack it. This time, however, the moment Shinx landed on the ground, he rolled to his left, knowing what was coming from behind him. The Kricketot lunged forward again, but this time, Shinx was ready.

"That-a-way Shinx!" Ariston yelled in surprise at his Pokemon's clever thinking

After Shinx got on his feet again after rolling out of the way of danger, he saw the Kricketot make another lunge, this time in vain, easily avoided by Shinx.

As soon as Kricketot passed in front of Shinx, he pounced again, slamming his teeth down into the Kricketot's soft skin.

The force of Shinx's hit forced Kricketot onto the ground, Shinx hanging on by it's teeth. The Kricketot rolled around, trying to shake Shinx off, but with no use, Shinx had it in his teeth, and had no intention of letting go.

After awhile, Shinx managed to get enough control to toss the Kricketot to the side.

"Hit it again, Shinx!" An exited Ariston yelled.

Not missing a beat, Shinx began to charge at the Kricketot before it had a chance to recover. This time, Shinx made contact with the Kricketot's torso, slamming into it with his head. Knocking the wind, and will to fight out of Kricketot.

The defeated Kricketot instinctively curled into a defense ball position on the ground, not wanting any further harm.

"That's enough," Ariston happily told Shinx, "you got him.". Ariston didn't want to cause any unnecessary harm to the foe's Kricketot.

The energy in the children overflowed as the crestfallen young bug catcher withdrew his Kricketot, defeated. Cheers for Shinx rang out amongst the voices, and some laughed at their friends defeat.

"Nice work, Shinx, you handled that like a pro." Ariston congratulated Shinx. Ariston scuffled Shinx's fur a bit and continued to pet him as the children dissipated to catch bug again. They now didn't seem to want to battle him after seeing what his Shinx could do.

It felt good to have an audience cheer for his Pokemon, he liked the glory of winning, even if it was just a kid who was overly eager to fight, a win was a win, and it felt good.

Shinx let out a "Nyyaaa" sound as he yawned, showing his tiny fangs, and continued walking beside his master. Before continuing, Ariston was sure to spray some antiseptic medicinal potion on Shinx's cut, which would help him heal faster.

"You know, I never expected you to be so powerful, little guy." Ariston joked with Shinx, Shinx just looked up and gave a reassuring "Nyaa" that seemed to say, "Well of course you didn't."

Making their way to Jubilife City, he had Shinx battle a few more wild Pokemon along the way. It seemed no bug catcher wanted to bother him, as word spread about his Shinx.

As they finally reached the city, after a short while of walking, Ariston felt something move in his backpack.

"Oh shi--" He yelled, as the movement nearly scared the life out of him.

He remembered the egg in his backpack. Ariston carefully set his backpack on the ground, and retrieved it, it nearly occupied all the space he had in his backpack.

He placed his hand on the grayish egg, and could feel movement inside.

"Woah, that's pretty cool." He thought aloud as he felt the creature stirring inside. The egg didn't seem to want to hatch at this moment though, it was still developing.

Ariston placed the egg back in his backpack and continued walking into the city. The cool breeze brushed his hair back has the tall buildings made the city streets a wind-tunnel to walk down.

Ariston scratched Shinx's chin a little bit and told him, "Good job today, we'll get you healed up at the Pokemon Center, then we'll go find some food." Shinx let out a happy "Nyaa!" at the sound of food before being put inside his pokeball. Ariston then started to make his way though the city, heading for the Pokemon Center to get his Shinx back to his energetic self.

--

Miles away, the traveler walked on a dusty road, far away from any town or city. He felt the metal inside him dragging him down with every step. His bones ached, his skin twined with pain, his blood seemed to be on fire, like hot copper was running though his veins

"...the hell did they do to me..." He though as he ignored what pain he could, and continued to walk. After a few amount of steps, the traveler stumbled onto one knee, holding himself up with his bandaged hand on the ground. A hospital bracelet with the text "Subject 14" was wrapped around his wrist.

He then reluctantly picked himself up, his body not wanting to cooperate. He ran a hand though his grey-silver hair, wiping it out of his face, his bright green eyes scanned the road ahead of him.

For a moment, he considered staying where he was, not moving, and just letting himself die here, but for some reason, decided it'd be better to keep walking, even without a destination. Every step felt like he was walking on shards of jagged glass, cutting into his feet, but he pressed on...not an idea as to where his final destination would be.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter Two: In the City

Ariston gave a breathy yawn and stretched his arms in the air as he walked down the city streets to one of the numerous Pokemon Centers. Sure, it's wasn't urgent that he heal Shinx, but he still wanted to keep his tiny Pokemon as healthy as possible. After all, it's the only Pokemon he had at the moment.

After a short while of walking, and occasionally taking a detour to check out more of the city, Ariston found the gargantuan Pokemon Center.

This massive building had to have room for every Pokemon in the city, with room for people passing though, it made the Pokemon Center in his hometown look like a refrigerator box.

Making his way inside, the cool breeze of central air hit him like a train. The inside of the Center looked like the lobby for any hospital. Complete with those crappy, uncomfortable chairs to wait in, TVs on the wall playing a station that no one wants to watch, and plenty of nurses at the front desk.

Ariston knew he could get done quickly, he walked up to the front desk, Shinx's pokeball in hand, and asked the lady, "Hey, could I just get a quick heal on just this one Pokemon here?".

The hefty brown haired nurse, who seemed reluctant to move said, "Yeah..." while giving him a stare that says, "Are you really going to make me get up and move for one Pokemon?".

Ariston didn't care though, it's their job to do that, he quickly showed his trainer license, as is required to get pokemon healed under the age of 21, and the nurse disappeared into the back room for a few minutes.

She came back in a short time, handing the pokeball back to Ariston, with the words, "We've restored your Pokemon back to full health, we hope to see you again.". The words seemed hollow, like someone working at McDonnalds just saying them to every client who came in.

As Ariston left the building, back into the city streets, an odd thought popped into his head; "Why do they say 'We hope to see you again'" he thought, "are they hoping my Pokemon get hurt?". Ariston laughed at the stupid phrase that all the nurses always said to himself, and began looking for a Pokemon/Trainer restaurant.

He found one easily enough, "The Trainer" it was called, how creative.

It looked like a pretty casual diner, so he made his way inside. Pushing open the glass and steel doors, he immediately noticed the two men inside.

"Are you kidding?" Ariston said happily as he approached his two friends, "Hey guys, didn't expect I'd see you two for a long time.".

Shane looked up, obviously happy to see his friend, but being the mellow person he is, just gave Ariston a fist-pound and a nod of his head.

Conti however, was much more animated upon seeing his friend. "Ariston! There you are! It's been so long we missed you!".

"Haha, it's only been a couple of hours, big guy." Ariston laughingly replied.

"Still..." Conti said, "Have a seat we just ordered food."

The waitress noticed another boy had joined the table, and quickly came back to take Ariston's order, he also ordered some food for his Shinx.

"Conti insisted on paying," Shane said, almost pouting, "He always does."

"Looks like you two are on a man-date then, haha." Ariston joked with his friends.

Forcing a rare laugh out of Shane, he replied, "Ha, that's what I told Conti, he still wants to pay though."

It seemed Conti had missed out on the entire conversation, he was too occupied talking to his Pokemon which sit beside him. He had a young looking Munchlax who seemed to be just a big, and just as smart, as Conti.

Conti wasn't fat, per se, just large, about 6"2' to 6"3' in height, and pretty thick. He always wore some sort of polo shirt. Today, it was a white polo shirt, and brown slacks. It kinda looked like he was going to Church.

Shane on the other hand, dressed like Ariston, he wore a black hoodie with some band's logo sprawled across it in some impossible to read text, Ariston was able to make it out this time, it said, "Arceus in Flames" across it. Along with the black hoodie, Shane wore his usual black jeans.

Shane was seated next to Ariston, but he also had his Crogunk at the table, who was eagerly awaiting food.

Ariston let out his happy and well healed Shinx, who did his usual stretch and yawn after being let out of a pokeball, and hopped up on the booth next to his trainer.

The three trainers had seen each other's Pokemon before, and weren't suprised to see them again.

"Looks like this place is pretty popular for trainers," Shane said, "Pretty soon it's going to look like our graduating class in here."

The waitress came back with the boy's various food orders, the Pokemon cheered happy at the sight of something other than Poke-chow. Munchlax and Conti were the first finished, who had each received a personal 'meat-lovers' pan pizza. They ate at almost a blinding speed.

Shane just had a hamburger and a sprite, and took his time, he ordered his Croagunk the same thing.

Ariston's order was the same a Shane's, but he order Shinx a plate of tuna. The little guy simply went crazy for tuna. And even let out some garbled "Nyaaa"'s whilst eating in happiness.

As they ate, they exchanged stories of what they've done today. They'd all fought some wild Pokemon, and defeated them easily, but it seemed Ariston had the the only one to battle another 'trainer'.

Ariston explained the story, and might have overly glorified his Shinx's actions a bit. Upon hearing some details in the story, Shinx took a break from furiously eating and gave an inquisitive "Nya?" at his mater's words.

After the story was explained, Shane just told Ariston, "Nice, man." with a slight smile. Conti seemed mystified by the story, as it seemed to overload his brain.

"Woaaahhhh!" He exclaimed, "That's amazing Ariston, you're awesome at training Pokemon, I wish I could win some battles!" he said as Conti continued his praise.

Ariston laughed a bit at his friend awe-struck face as his Munchlax mimicked his movements.

"Thanks, haha" Ariston replied, a little taken back.

After they finished eating they all went outside and said their goodbyes. Shane and Conti were staying in the city for a few more days, while Ariston was making his way to Oreburgh City, to fight his first gym leader.

Ariston knew he wasn't read -now-, but he figured he'd get stronger on the way, and probably capture another Pokemon along the way. After all, he'd have to cross though the Oreburgh Gate, which was a small enough cave, but still sported plenty of powerful Pokemon and trainers to battle.

Before leaving, Ariston heard a confident Shane say, "Hey Ariston, wait up.". Turing to see what Shane needed, it appeared as if his Croagunk was in an offense fighting position.

"Why not have a battle? We're finally allowed to, I want to see what your Shinx can do.".

Ariston looked down to the Shinx at his feet, waiting for Shinx's decision to fight or not, it was really up to the Pokemon, he didn't want to send his Pokemon into a fight if Shinx didn't want to.

Shinx gave a slight smile and a nod to his trainer.

"Alright Shane, lets see what you got." Ariston returned in the same confident manner.

At this point, Conti was almost in cardiac arrest from all his excitement of getting to see his two friends fight.

"Awesome! I get to see a battle! Yes!!" Conti cheered happily in his low, slow voice.

Shinx stepped in front of his master, while Croagunk did the same.

Ariston knelt down a whispered to his Shinx, "Alright, he's got a pretty tough Croagunk, so take it easy to begin with, just like the fight with the Kricketot, use your head, alright?". A quick glance across to Shane showed he was talking to his Croagunk in the same manner.

Shinx nodded in understanding and prepared to fight.

This time however, Shinx didn't just get into a crouching position, as Shinx cautiously circled the Croagunk, his fur began to crackle and let out light, as a steady flow of electricity ran though Shinx's body, as he began to charge.

"Woah." Ariston let out as he watched his Shinx light up the streets as the now dimming sun faded into the horizon.

It seemed Shinx had gotten much stronger, and was now able to start using some electric attacks.

The flow of electricity seemed to slightly intimidate Shane's Croagunk. Regardless of what the Croagunk felt, he sprang off of his legs and made a swipe with his tiny claws at Shinx.

Shinx, being the speedy little guy he is, was able to avoid the attack, leaving a small trail of electric static in his place. Croagunk missed, and Shinx managed to make contact with the Croagunk's torso. Shinx slammed into the creature, knocking it back, and giving him a slight jolt from Shinx's fur.

"Careful Croagunk, don't let it get any direct hits in, watch it's charge. It can't maintain it's electric charge forever."

"...Damn." Ariston thought, as he was hoping Shane wouldn't remember from class.

"An electric Pokemon can charge it's body, for both offensive and defensive attacks..." The words of his professor rang in his head, "...but after a discharge, the Pokemon is temporarily weakened."

Only another trainer would know this, turns out this would be an interesting fight.

Immediately recovering from the jolt of electricity flowing though Croagunk's body, he sprang forward again, this time moving faster.

"That's it, Croagunk, keep on with you pursuit." Shane told his Pokemon in his usual relaxed voice, but it seemed there was a little more emotion behind it this time, Shane was -excited-.

Ariston laughed to himself at making his usually mellow friend get slightly worked up.

Ariston regained focus though, when Shane's words finally triggered something in his head, "-keep on with your pursuit-" was what Shane had said...

Ariston remembered learning of the Pursuit strategy, and how only a few Pokemon were able to do it. The strategy involved the unshakeable focus on the enemy, not paying attention to any surroundings or outside factors, to the Pokemon perusing, everything was black around him but the enemy.

This let the Pokemon move much faster and make attacks more frequently, making it much harder for his Shinx to get out of the way.

Every time Shinx jumped out of the way, Croagunk immediately changed his direction too, each swipe of it's tiny claws getting closer.

Shinx was moving slower now, he hadn't recovered form his electric discharge yet.

"Careful Shinx, bide your time" Ariston told to his Pokemon who was currently dodging swipes closer and closer to it's face.

The pursuit strategy would probably wear out Croagunk, but not for a long time, that Pokemon bread had high endurance, which is why Shinx's discharge didn't hurt him much.

While Shinx was trying his best, running and diving out of the way, finally the Croagunk had caught up with the speedy little guy. Croagunk took a full swing at Shinx, and made contact with the poor creatures head.

The impact sent Shinx tumbling to the ground, rolling a few times before landing. Shinx lay on the ground for a few seconds, trying to recover from the blow. As Shinx began to pick himself up, he opened his eyes to see the still pursuing him. Shinx barely had time to get on his feet before the Croagunk had struck him again, this time, a powerful blow to the torso.

Ariston tightened his fists as he saw his Pokemon get beaten across the battlefield. He knew that Shinx couldn't keep this up forever.

"Common Shinx, build up your charge again, you can do this!" Ariston yelled, trying to think of something he could do to help out his Pokemon. He drew a blank, he didn't remember what his professors had said about defending against the pursuit strategy. He probably shouldn't have slept so much in class...Well he's paying for it now.

The brave Shinx endured a flurry of hits as the Croagunk continued to pummel him, this time, a right hook to Shinx's head, a left jab to his midsection, and finally a titanic uppercut that sent him to the ground again.

Ariston let out a sigh of sorrow as he expected the battle to be over, there's no way his Shinx would get up after that, and even if he did, Croagunk would be right there to hit him again.

Shane smiled confidently as his Pokemon dominated the battlefield, Conti was almost having a heart attack for both the reason of the excitement of the battle, and the fact he had to watch Pokemon get hurt, Conti never enjoyed watching things in pain.

Shinx lay on the ground, some blood coming from the places Croagunk had hit him. Shinx was getting angry of not having any time to react. Instead of getting back to his feet, Shinx anticipated Croagunk's attack, and rolled out of the way.

Shinx managed to narrowly avoid another strike from Croagunk, but his respite wouldn't last long, he knew Croagunk would be at him again, still focused on his pursuit.

Shinx started to build up what charge he could, now moving faster with the electricity crackling though his fur, but still slowed down from his wounds.

The Croagunk made contact with Shinx's midsection again, bracing himself to be jolted by Shinx's charge. However, Shinx didn't discharge this time, he took the hit, tumbling to the ground, but quickly rolling to his feet again, stumbling slightly.

"What's he doing...?" Ariston said to himself as he watched his Shinx intentionally get hit, while his charge flow throughout his fur. He knew Shinx could get another hit in at any point their bodies made contact, but for some reason, didn't.

Shinx took many more blows to his head, legs, and midsection before finally hitting the ground, electricity still flowing though him, and didn't, or wasn't able, to make an effort to get back up.

The Croagunk was finally brought down from his pursuit high, and started to breathe heavily, it took a lot of energy to keep that up, and the small Pokemon took many more hits than both Croagunk and Shane expected.

Just stay down, little Pokemon, the battle is over Croagunk said in their language to Shinx, who was still on the ground.

...Who...Who said the battle is over, I'm still fighting... Shinx struggled to reply as he shakily brought himself to his feet.

"It's alright Shinx, you've done good, you don't have to fight any more!" Ariston yelled out to his Shinx, who refused to stay down.

Shinx shot his master the most serious look he'd ever seen from his cheery Pokemon.

The looked slightly intimidated Ariston, he decided to let Shinx continue to battle.

Shane saw the little Shinx's determination, and knew he'd better not advise Ariston to withdraw his Pokemon. Shinx had no intention of giving up with out a fight.

Croagunk looked to his master for approval, and Shane gave him a nod.

With that, Croagunk lunged at Shinx again, twisting his whole body, preparing to put all his weight and strength behind this punch.

This is going to hurt... Shinx thought to himself as he closed his eyes...Here goes.

Shinx strained every muscle in his tiny body as he built up his charge as much as he could manage. The much larger Croagunk drew closer and Shinx strained himself both to remain conscious and to generate enough electricity for what he was attempting to do.

Conti and his Munchlax coverd their eyes.

The Croagunk finally twisted his body around as his entire being rotated with this punch, it made solid contact directly to the side of Shinx's head.

Croagunk's eyes widened as the Pokemon he had just struck insanely hard remained in the same place, blood coming from where he had just made contact.

As Croagunk realized what was going on, it was too late. A blinding amount of electricity lit up the dark streets as it flowed from Shinx's body directly into Croagunk's.

The Croagunk couldn't retrieve his fist from Shinx's body as the stabbing electricity paralyzed his body, this was nothing like the first jolt, Croagunk let out a cry of anguish as the electric Pokemon relentlessly pumped him full of voltage.

Both Shane and Ariston's eyes widened at the sight of this, Shane's usually calm disposition vanished as his mouth gaped open in surprise.

"What the hell's going on?! Stay with him Croagunk!" Shane yelled...And Shane never yells.

Conti and his Muchlax peeked though their hands to see the incredible display of the Pokemon battle continue.

Shinx's voltage died down as the Croagunk started to loose consciousness.

...Just...Just a little more. Shinx thought as he felt himself starting to see black. He pushed himself further and delivered one final jolt to the Croagunk.

The electric charge gone, Croagunk stumbled backwards, took a swing out of dazed confusion at an invisible opponent, hitting nothing but air, and fell to the ground, knocked out.

Ariston noticed the electricity flowing though his Shinx's feet, and finally realized how what just happened was possible.

Being the inept trainer Shane is, they both realized Shinx's strategy, and were shocked by the fact that neither of them had even thought of it.

The tiny electric Pokemon had managed to bind his feet to the metal manhole cover that he was standing on, and run a static charge though it, making it impossible for Shinx to move. That way, when Croagunk made contact, he would be able to hold him there to deliver his continuously building charge in one massive discharge.

Confident in his work, Shinx let a smile creep over his face, then finally fell to the ground, joining Croagunk in lost consciousness. It seemed that Croagunk's hit had done it's work on Shinx too.

Shane and Ariston both stood in shock at what had just happened. Both Pokemon lay on the street unconscious...Who had beaten who? The question played in both trainers heads until Conti broke the silence with his overly animated and loud cheers for both Pokemon.

"Way to go! Shinx and Croagunk! That was AWESOME!!" Conti yelled almost joining Shinx Croagunk in unconsciousness with all his excitement.

Shane collected himself back to his calm composure and withdrew Croagunk back into his Pokeball. This time, he did it with a slight smile, happy at the battle that just took place.

"Wow...Shinx, that was awesome..." Ariston said in vain, knowing his Pokemon couldn't hear him. Ariston withdrew his unconscious smiling Pokemon back into his Pokeball, and walked over to Shane.

"Guess they're pretty even huh?" Ariston said laughing to Shane.

"Heh, yeah, I guess so, that was awesome, Ariston, I hope all my battles are as exciting as that." Shane said back to Ariston, still sporting a smile.

Realizing what was on his face, Shane quickly cleared his throat and returned to his neutral facial expression. "Guess we should probably get these guys to the Pokemon Center huh?" he told Ariston.

"Yeah, there's one pretty close to here, I'll show you" He replied.

Before they could go anywhere, Conti was sure to explode with energy, retelling every part of the battle to the trainers, overflowing with energy, sure Conti had watched Pokemon battles on TV, but he'd never seen one like this before.

The three friends ended the evening by making their way into the Pokemon Center, back to the same hefty nurse who was obviously more than annoyed to see the same dark haired boy who had just been in here hours prior.

Ariston laughed to himself at the nurses attitude and got Shinx and Croagunk healed, resting safely in their Pokeballs, Ariston would be sure to congratulate Shinx on his amazing job later, but for now, he thought it'd be better for him to recover.

After talking for a short while, It was time for Shane and Conti to leave, as they were staying at Conti's step-father's apartment in the city, while Ariston was going to stay at the Trainers Lodge.

The apartment was small, and barely had enough room for Shane and Conti, not to mention Conti's step-father. Naturally, being the person Conti is, he offered to let Ariston stay in the apartment while he stayed at the Trainers Lodge. Ariston laughed and of course declined, he had no problem stay at the Trainers Lodge himself.

The Trainers Lodge was just a building in the city with military style bunk-beds for trainers who were just passing though the city to sleep in. Hell, it was better than sleeping on the street, after all.

Ariston said goodbye to Shane and Conti and made his way to the Lodge. Finding a plain empty bed in the corner, Ariston got changed into an undershirt and boxers and laid down. He was sure to secure his egg in his backpack, making sure no one would trip over it while he slept. After today's excitement, Ariston fell a sleep shortly after his head had hit the pillow.

--

Miles away, the traveler finally made contact with civilization. He traveled though the slums of what he assumed to be a large city, as vagrants and prostitutes filled the area around him.

The traveler wore a torn up plain white shirt he had managed to obtain, the shirt barely fitting him, his well toned muscles causing the fabric to stretch, he also wore raggedy long black pants which were also ripped in various places. His hands were bandaged up to his forearms, which he didn't dare to remove. He didn't know why, but something in his head told him not to. He could feel something under the bandages, something...Unnatural.

He wore no shoes, just bandaged feet and heels, covered in medical tape made walking though the city street difficult. He still had his wrist tag wrapped around him. "SUBJECT 14" boldly printed across it. He kept it on him, it was the only thing that told him who he was. He had no idea what it meant, or where it came from, but he knew it needed to have an identity.

Homeless men and women gave he odd stares and they huddled around their various positions, they were nothing more than bottles and cans, but it was all they had, and they didn't want this stranger taking anything from them.

"...What the hell am I?" He thought to himself as he felt some sort of metal grinding though his body. His emerald green eyes focused on the broken souls around him.

"Is this what humanity is? Is this what I'm destined to become? An insignificant shred of existence?" He continued to think.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice one of the men on the streets approach him.

This homeless man seemed younger than all the rest, but the harsh condition of being out on the streets aged his face and body. He wore a scrappy grey coat, and torn blue-jeans. He had faded black hair, and an unshaven face. He was going grey, unusual for his age, but living on the street takes its toll on people.

The traveler looked over his figure with his emerald eyes, examine him trying to anticipate what he wanted. The man just blocked his path, as if he was trying to work up the courage for something.

The traveler made eye contact with the man in his path and stared into the man's dull, brown eyes.

Suddenly, the man broke out into a fury, letting out a cry of anger and drawing a switchblade from his coat pocket, wrapping his free hand around the travelers neck and pushing him to the wall.

The weakened body of the traveler was filled with pain over the slight contact with the wall. His body was broken already, anymore strain could kill him.

The man with the blade pressed it against the travelers neck.

"Alright!" The homeless man said in a fury, obviously nervous, "Don't even think about screaming...I-I swear to god I'll kill you!".

The traveler felt no fear, not because the mans nervousness was so obvious, it's because he wouldn't mind dying in this alley, by this mans hands.

The vagrants observing this seemed to pity the man being mugged, but did nothing. They had no desire to help him.

"Gi-Give me all the money you have!" The man demanded.

When the traveler calmly stared into the man's eyes, the mugger grew impatient.

"Now!" He yelled, punching the wall beside the travelers head, in an attempt to intimidate him.

"Money..." The traveler said to himself. He had never owned any, no had he ever seen any, but he knew it was something very valuable to humans, and it seemed they'd even kill for it. It was amusing to him.

"What are you slow?! I said MONEY. Now!!" The mugger said with fleeing patience, as he pressed the blade harder against the travelers neck.

"I have none." The traveler said calmly.

Annoyed by the fact he had chosen to mug someone with nothing, but not suprised, no one had any money in this part of town, the mugger's anger grew.

"Th-Then give me whatever you have" He demanded again.

When the traveler made no movement, the mugger began searching the travelers person for something of value. The traveler just stood there calmly, until the mugger made a mistake.

Mistaking the medical bracelet on the travelers wrist for something of value, the mugger ripped it off of him. Feeling this, the travelers calm was gone in an instant as his body quickly filled with rage.

That was the only thing that belonged to him, and no one had the right to take it.

The traveler aggressively gripped the hand of the mugger, which held the knife. The traveler then squeezed, easily breaking the small bones inside a human hand.

Screaming in agony as his hand was crushed, the traveler growled under his breath, and effortlessly snapped the muggers wrist, causing him to drop the blade in his now crushed and mutilated hand. The mugger continued to yell as he let go of the medical bracelet in his other hand, he brought it up to try and force this man's grip off of him.

The scene sparked attention around them, various street-people watched in awe from there places in the alley.

The mugger tried to wring the travelers grip off of him, but to no avail. The traveler was blind with anger.

The traveler placed his free hand on the mugger's neck, stopping his ability to inhale. He then swung him around and pressed him against the wall, effectively switching places with him.

The traveler let go of the mans destroyed hand and wrapped his fingers into a bandaged fist.

"You took something that didn't belong to you..." The traveler said in an enraged and raspy tone.

"P-Please! I'm sorry! D-Don't hurt me!" The now cowering mugger yelled.

Ignoring the mans pleas, the traveler drew his fist back, and slung his overly clenched fist with unnatural speed towards the muggers head. The traveler could feel the sensation of metal-workings inside of him again, this time, in his fist. His fist made contact with the wall next to the muggers head, similar to the fashion the mugger had done to him before.

This time however, the wall was forced in, with a large cracking noise, parts of the large ally wall flew out from where the travelers fist made contact. The impact and the now growing hole in the wall caused parts of concrete to stab into the muggers face, being so close to it.

The travelers eyes widened as he never expected he'd made any sort of mark on the wall, let alone break off pieces of it. His rage now astonishment, he relaxed his left hand, and let the mugger's neck go, allowing him to breathe again. The traveler's eyes were now focused on his hand, buried deep in the wall. He had lost all focus in the mugger in front of him.

The mugger slumped to the ground, screaming in anguish over the small pieces of concrete that were jaggedly sticking out of his neck and face. A large amount of blood came out of his cuts and wounds as the mugger immediately sprang to his feet and ran away, taking any chance he could to get away from this...thing. The surrounding vagrants ran away in a similar fashion, now terrified of this man.

The traveler, not even noticing that the mugger had ran away, withdrew his fist from the hole he had put in the wall. He had been able to put his fist down to his wrist into the solid concrete ally-way wall, what really astounded him was the impact had given him no pain at all, as he only felt the pressure of hitting something, he thought for sure the pain would be great simply hitting a wall, not to mention putting a hole in one. As he looked upon the now ripped bandages, he noticed a shimmer coming from his knuckles.

He looked at it closer, and saw it to be some sort of small layer of metal, covering his knuckles. He felt over them with his other hand, and could feel its smooth, cold quality.

Before he could examine his fist any closer, the metal began to diffuse back into his hand, and as quickly as it came, it was gone.

The traveler stood speechless as he rotated his hand in front of his face, all traces of metal were gone. This incident raised millions of questions in the travelers mind as he looked down the now empty alley way.

Hearing sirens of police cars, he instinctively knew that he shouldn't remain where he is. The pain in his body now almost gone with the rush of adrenaline he was feeling, he turned on his heels, and starting running the way he came.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter Three: The Path to Oreburgh

The sun shone through one of the large windows in the Trainers Lodge, the beam of light seemed to shine right on Ariston's face.

Ariston lazily opened his eyes, then squinted them shut again as his pupils adjusted to the growing intensity of the sun shining on him. He sat up on his temporary bed, this low quality box-spring mattress wasn't the most comfortable of things, neither was the pillow that might as well been made of wood, but hey, he could have been sleeping on the ground, outside in the cold weather.

He looked around the room to see other trainers in their bunk beds. There weren't too many trainers in here now, not many trainers wanted to travel right now, most of them were paranoid of Team Galactic. Ariston didn't really see the point of worrying about them, in the unlikely event he -did- run into a Team Galactic Member, why in the world would they have any interest in him? He's just a beginner trainer with no badges and one Pokemon, after all.

Due to the lack of occupants in the room, Ariston slept in the bottom bunk of one of the numerous bunk-beds that lined in rows throughout the large room. There wasn't even anyone sleeping above him. He'd prefer to be on the top bunk, but he knew that he should to be close to his backpack with his egg in it. He didn't want to take any chances of it cracking.

After taking a few minutes to collect himself, and wake up a bit, Ariston swung his legs over to the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes, letting out a sigh. He loved his sleep, and having to get up early to travel to Oreburgh City was a chore. Everyday, the first thing on his mind when he wakes up from sleep is always the same thought, "Can't wait to do that again".

He knew that he had to leave early if he wanted to make the walk to Oreburgh before it got dark, he'd rather not travel at night, it made things much more difficult. Besides, the Gym would be closed at night, he didn't have any intention of fight the Gym leader today, but it would still be nice to have that option, he didn't know how much stronger he'd get on the way to Oreburgh.

Gym leaders trained from 10 AM to 5 PM on weekdays inside their gym with their various understudies training along with the Gym Leader, wanting to get stronger. If Ariston lived in a city with a Gym, he'd probably be training there once he got his license, rather than journeying. He was grateful that he got to travel.

"Alright." He said to himself as he hefted his sleepy body out of bed, getting dressed an ready to travel. He put on his blue-jeans, and an obviously worn down plain black shirt. The weather was getting cooler, but he liked the cold air, and had no problem being a little chilly today.

He put the rest of his clothes and supplies in his backpack, underneath the warm egg, and made his way to the exit of the Lodge. He pushed open the heavy steel doors, and walked outside.

The cold air woke him up instantly as Ariston was hit with a breeze. He decided to go back to "The Traveling Trainer: Restaurant and Diner" for a quick breakfast before he left.

The diner was pretty close to where he was staying, they had built the Trainers Lodge strategically close to a Pokemon/Trainer restaurant, and the cities Pokemon Center.

Now walking down the city streets, Ariston noticed the lack of people. It could be that not many were up this early in the morning, but it was still strange. Sure, there were a few business men and other people walking around, but not as many as there should be in a city. Oddly, everyone sported some sort of worried and paranoid look on their face.

After not too long of walking, Ariston found his way to the "Traveling Trainer: Restaurant and Diner". He liked this place. Walking inside for the second time, he half expected to see Shane and Conti sitting there having breakfast too. Of course they weren't, but it would have been nice to see his friends again before leaving.

Shane and Conti weren't leaving the city for quite some time, and had no reason to be up at this hour.

Taking a seat at the same empty booth he ate at yesterday, he checked his cell phone for the time. "6:43 AM" it displayed. It felt like a school day being up this early.

The restaurant had a fair amount of booths and and tables inside of it, also with a counter that surrounded the kitchen area, with some rotating bar stools. Ariston preferred to sit in booths though, they're much more comfortable in his opinion.

Soon enough a skinny waitress in her mid 30's approached him, who had blonde hair down to her neck, and was wearing the blue and white "The Traveling Trainer" employee uniform.

"Can I get you something, hun?" She asked him in a city resident accent as she pulled out her waitress pad to write down his order.

"Sure, just a glass of orange juice for me and a plain bagel." He said, but quickly remembering his Shinx and his titanic battle the night before. Ariston decided that it's best for his little friend to be rewarded.

As the waitress turned to walk away, Ariston continued, "Oh yeah, one more thing for my Shinx here."

Ariston retrieved up the pokeball that contained Shinx, waiting to release him, Ariston wanted to surprise his Pokemon with his favorite foods.

"Could I also get..." he said, pausing to think of what Shinx might like, "A side of tuna fish, a plate of milk, and an order of sesame salmon, please."

Scribbling down the order in the waitress's incomprehensible shorthand, she nodded while saying in her city accent, "Sure thing, hun.", and walked to the kitchen to place the order.

"Shinx is gonna be happy when he sees that." Ariston thought to himself as he watched the TV hung at the corner of the counter across the restaurant.

It was the news, which is usually pretty boring, so Ariston wasn't really paying attention until he heard the words, "Team Galactic" come out of the News Anchors mouth.

This peeked his attention, and he listened more carefully.

"Our sources have reported an apparent threat on Jubilife City from the terrorist organization, Team Galactic." The News Anchor said. "This group has claimed responsibility for many attacks on various cities and towns, causing destruction, theft, and even death." he continued, "No word yet on what or when the attack will be, but Channel 9 All Day News will update you as soon as we have any more details.".

"No wonder there's not many people out today, they must have heard about this threat and either left the city or are just planning to stay inside as much as they can." Ariston thought, "Good thing I'm leaving today, Dad has always told me, Team Galactic doesn't make threats lightly, they usually follow though.".

He still remember his fathers words, even though he hadn't seen his father in over a year and a half, since he was ordered to go to Snowpoint City.

Thoughts as to why Team Galactic would want to randomly attack a city played in his head. Ariston's attention was diverted when the waitress returned carrying Ariston's small order, and the much larger tray of food for his Shinx.

She placed the hot food on the table, and returned to the kitchen.

Ariston finally released Shinx onto the seat across from him. The tiny Pokemon yawned with it's eyes closed, and upon opening them, was slightly mystified by the food laid out before him.

Shinx's eyes widened had he let out multiple cheerful "Nyaa!"'s at his masters generosity.

"Haha." Ariston said to his Shinx, "Enjoy it, buddy, you earned it.".

Shinx happily dove in to his mountain of delicious fish, almost forgetting to breathe whilst he ate. Shinx wasted no time and after devouring the tuna, one of his favorites, turned his attention to Shinx's absolute favorite fish, salmon.

His master had even ordered it cooked rare, just how he liked it. Shinx was in heaven.

By the time Ariston had finished his bagel, Shinx had already finished his much larger pile of food.

Laughing at his Shinx's appetite, Ariston continued to talk to Shinx about the battle.

"That's the way I hope you always fight, you were great. You stayed in the fight, even after taking some hard hits, and used your head. It sure did pay off too, the Croagunk fell before you did, as far as I'm concerned, you won." Ariston told his friend. "When we fight other trainers from now on, I hope you act just as smart as you did last night.".

Shinx happily "Nyaa"'d at his master's praise, and shortly after, let out a high-pitched hiccup from consuming all his food so fast. Shinx's eyes widened in surprise as the hiccup left his tiny mouth.

"Lets get going then, okay?" Ariston asked.

Shinx nodded, and was withdrawn inside of his pokeball.

Ariston payed his check, left a tip, and headed outside. Ariston was also sure to pick up a take out order for the lunch he'd be eating on his way to Oreburgh, but after that, he immediately left. He wanted to leave quickly, he didn't want to get involved in anything do to with Team Galactic.

--

"Dr.Michals, wait." One of the female surgeons pleaded as Dr.Michals was about to leave the room.

"Come take a look at this," she said, pointing to the brain activity monitor, "the subject's heart has stopped, but it's brain function is spiking in delta waves. By these readings alone, you'd think the subject was asleep rather than dead."

"That doesn't make any sense." Dr.Michals said, returning to the operating room, examining the brain activity more closely. "Upon dying, brain activity should steadily go down, but...Delta waves are up, and alpha and theta waves are also climbing." He squinted his eyes, trying to think of a solution to this anomaly, watching the health monitors display all the characteristics of a living patient, but with just one thing missing. A heartbeat.

Given enough time like this, of course the subject's brain would die, and all it's organs would fail, the body cannot survive with out a heartbeat supplying oxygen and blood to it. This however, may give them time to save him.

"Dr.Ariston," Dr.Michals said, "what were you doing when the subject's heart stopped?".

"Sir, I was just about to transfuse the alloy-enritched blood into his body," Dr.Ariston replied, "but stopped when I heard the flat-line."

"Humm," Dr.Michals said while thinking..."Transfuse it anyway, it's specific for this subject's DNA, there's no harm in giving it another shot.". Normally, on a patient who was flat-lining, they'd defibrillate him to try and get a heart beat, however, currently, that was impossible. The subject's chest was cut wide open, along with various other bones exposed, that many volts now would fry his organs, also destroying the artificial ones they had installed.

"Yes sir." Dr.Ariston replied as began the transfusion.

Transfusing blood was a pretty interesting thing to do, you had to completely remove all of the blood in the patients body, and replace it with a new type of blood, in this case, the red blood cells in the new blood had been infused with a metallic alloy.

As the transfusion took place, there was a high-pitched "beep" that broke the silence in the room. It was a heart beat. Quickly another beep followed, then another, and finally the pace of the patients heart returned to normal.

As the alloy-enriched blood entered his veins and arteries, the heart cells reacted to the new blood flow, and his cardiac muscles began their usual processes. His heart had started again.

"It worked!" said Dr.Ariston in surprise, "We may actually have a shot at success here, oh my god, this is incredible!"

"Fantastic." Dr.Michals said confidently as he put on a new pair of surgical gloves and approached the subject.

Subject 14's eyes opened once again, as he regained consciousness. He looked down the table to see his bloody body which was split open and being worked on. He felt all the pain, and clenched his teeth in horror. Yet remained silent.

"One...Two. Three...Four...Five...Six." Subject 14 Counted.

There were six doctors. Six doctors Subject 14 decided he was going to kill.

"Thought we lost you there buddy," one of the doctors said, looking down into Subject 14's emerald eyes, "that'd be lucky for you, wouldn't it? Haha." he continued gently slapping the subject's face, mocking the powerless creature in agony before him.

Subject 14 strained his vision to see his name tag, the pain was making him dizzy and numb, but he managed to read it. "Dr.Maizner" it said.

"Dr.Maizner" Subject 14 thought, "Dr.Maizner dies first.". These were his last thoughts of fleeting consciousness as he lost the ability to think in the extreme amount of pain.

"Beginning Organic Restructuring." Dr.Michals said.

The pain grew, Subject 14 lost consciousness.

"...Gha!" The traveler audibly exclaimed, jolting away from his light sleep once again. He'd been running for hours, and finally fell asleep against an ally way wall once he'd lost all police looking for him.

Again he'd had a nightmare, this time it was further into the procedure. It's usually just the one where his heart stops, he'd never had this one before.

No memory existed of this happing to him, but as he had the dreams, he recalled being on that cold operating table.

"Dr.Michals, Dr.Ariston, Dr.Maizner..." He said to himself...Three out of six...

The traveler picked himself up in the cold winter weather, he had found a torn white robe in one of the allies he'd ran though. It was dirty and unkempt, but provided warmth where it wasn't ripped. It was pretty thin material, but better than nothing.

He began walking once again as the doctors names played in his head. If he did nothing else before he died, he would kill all six doctors.

--

Ariston set foot on the dirt road that made up Route 203. He left the asphalt roads behind and started traveling down the shabby pathway.

Route 203 was much nice than Route 202, it had a better breeze, more open spaces and fields, and best of all, stronger Pokemon.

Making his way down the path, Ariston saw the usual Bidof and Starly going about their daily business, some Budew basking in the sun, and could have sworn he even saw a rare Ralts scampering though the tall grass.

The cool temperature made for a nice walk through the grass. He enjoyed being outdoors.

The egg shook in his backpack, surprising Ariston once again at the unfamiliar movement. The egg's excitement died down after a few more minutes of walking, almost as if it just wanted to remind him it was there.

Ariston decided to let Shinx out of his pokeball to enjoy the weather. He retrieved his companion's pokeball off his belt and released the little guy on the ground. Shinx shivered a bit as he got used to the weather, but quickly stretched and began walking aside his master.

They walked together for awhile, Ariston would occasionally share with Shinx some advice on fighting other Pokemon, and some strategy with Shinx's discharge ability.

While talking, they passed by a small lake. Ariston checked his cell phone again for the time. "9:21 AM" It displayed, they'd been walking for quite some time. Ariston decided the lake would be a good place to take a break.

Ariston and Shinx sat down at the lakeside and began to relax. Ariston placed his backpack beside him, unzipping it, he let the egg into the sunlight. He then let out a sigh of relaxation and laid flat on his back, hands behind his head, he watched Starly make lazy circles in the sky above him, then shut his eyes.

Shinx, rather than relaxing, found ways to entertain himself, he'd occasionally scare flocks of Starly away, or wrestle with an aggressive Bidof.

After some fun, Shinx returned to his masters side, and stared at the deep blue of the lake.

Shinx was then startled as something poked it's head out of the water. He started furiously letting out "Nyaa"'s to alert his master, but to no use.

"Now now Shinx..." Ariston said, eyes still closed, obviously relaxing and on the edge of sleeping, "...I'll play with you in a minute" he lazily continued, rolling on his side.

Shinx decided to examine the creature by himself.

The head sticking out of the water was strange to Shinx. It was a brownish-orange color, which faded to an almost white-brown around it's mouth and eyebrows, the area around it's mouth also sported a few whiskers sticking out. This Pokemon also had a ring around its neck which seemed to be keeping him afloat.

Shinx tilted his head in question, examining this creature.

Suddenly, the Pokemon in the water withdrew it's head back underneath the surface.

Sad that this interesting Pokemon was now gone, Shinx approached the water's surface and placed his head closer and closer to it, trying to find where the Pokemon had swam off to.

The Pokemon then popped it's head back up, right in front of Shinx, their noses almost touching. Shinx, almost having a heart attack, jumped backwards at this, his tiny mouth hung open in surprise.

The Pokemon gave a friendly smile and a small amount laughter as it scared the small electric Pokemon almost to death. Coming out of the water, it revealed it's long body, which was the same orange-brown color as it's head, save for its stomach, which was also a shade of brown-white. It also had tiny arms, with blue fins attached, and two long tails.

The water Pokemon stood up on it's short hind legs and examined Shinx.

Shinx gave a playfully angry "Nyaa" for being scared by this Pokemon. The water Pokemon just smiled at Shinx and shook its fur, covering Shinx with water.

Shinx closed one eye and backed up as the water rained on him, he didn't like to get wet. The water Pokemon saw this and began playfully squirting Shinx with the water his species could shoot from it's mouth.

Shinx ran around trying to avoid the low powered water jets that splashed from the Pokemon. Seemed he had found a way to have fun with the wildlife rather than just battling it.

Some water made it's way on Ariston's face, and he reluctantly opened his eyes. Ariston immediately noticed the Buizel chasing his Shinx around.

Ariston originally thought Shinx was fighting this wild Buizel, but after watching them, he recognized that they were just having fun, and relaxed his worried nerves.

As more and more water covered Shinx and Ariston, Ariston let out a laugh and told the two Pokemon running around, "Alright, settle down you two.".

The Shinx and Buizel both started at Ariston for a few seconds in silence. Then, the Buizel simply tilted it's head to the left inquisitively, then proceeded to spray a blast of cold water into Ariston's crotch.

"Jesus!" Ariston yelled, jumping back from both the temperature and the location of the water. It obviously looked like the 16 year old trainer had pissed himself.

Confident with his work, the Buizel continued to chase Shinx around.

Ariston tried to wipe some of the water off, but it was still pretty obvious. He gave up and figured he'd just let Shinx and Buizel wear each other out, not risking another spray. Wet pants plus cold weather equals one uncomfortable Ariston.

Ariston sat back down and watched his Shinx interact with the natural Pokemon by the lake.

He let them play for half and hour or so, neither the Shinx nor the Buizel getting tired, before he called his Shinx over.

Shinx looked sadly at Buizel, then ran back to his master.

Buizel watched Shinx run away, saddened that his new friend was leaving.

As Ariston petted the damp fur on Shinx's head and body, he stood up, and began walking down Route 203 again.

He heard the footsteps of his Shinx behind him, but also the sound of something else.

He turned to see what it was, and it was the all-too-familiar Buizel, following Shinx.

"Looks like your friend wants to come with us, eh?" Ariston said to his Shinx.

Both the Buizel and Shinx looked up at Ariston and nodded.

"Alright then, I'll make you a part of the team."

With that, Ariston drew an empty pokeball from his belt and gently tossed it over to the smiling Buizel.

Pokeballs never actually make contact with a Pokemon, when they are in range of a wild Pokemon, they immediately let out their signature red light onto the Pokemon, which pushes the pokeball back, simultaneously opening it and drawing the wild Pokemon inside.

Ariston remember hearing in class that the original pokeball -did- make contact with a Pokemon, but the design was quickly discarded and remodeled due to the fact some trainers threw it too hard, harming or killing some small, or bug Pokemon. Besides, most Pokemon who were caught by that design automatically resented their master for having just throwing a hard metal ball at them.

As the Buizel was drawn inside the pokeball, it shook for a moment on the ground, then it finally made the monotone low pitched tune, indicating that the Pokemon was caught.

Ariston retrieved the pokeball off the ground, and examined it.

"Boy, that was easy, this Buizel sure seemed to like you. You've got a new friend and member to the team." Ariston told Shinx.

With that, he quickly release Buizel onto the ground next to Shinx.

"Welcome aboard." Ariston told Buizel, smiling at the water Pokemon.

Buizel just gave another inquisitive look, examining her new master, then proceeded to spray Ariston with another cool jet of water directly into his crotch.

"Ahh!" Ariston exclaimed as he jumped back once more, the tiny little Pokemon had sprayed him again, and the feeling was quite undesirable.

Laughing at Buizel and Shinx running around, he started walking again, trying to wipe some water off his pants on his shirt.

"A water Pokemon..." Ariston thought, "This is good, the Oreburgh City Gym Leader uses mostly rock type Pokemon, from what I've heard."

Buizel and Shinx running around his feet, the two Pokemon and their master made their way down Route 203.

--

Miles away, the traveler had made his way out of the city. He had crossed though it to the other side, and had no desire of returning, that place was horrible.

In his right hand, he carried his medical bracelet, his left hand was gripping his right limb, he felt a stabbing pain in his biceps, and squeezed it to try and lessen the pull of gravity on it.

He walked lazily down the path, while the temperature continued to drop. His grey-silver hair fell over his face as he walked the desolate path of some unknown Route. A snowflake fell in front of him. His body ached from the wear of surgery and the drawing of metal from his blood cells into his knuckles. Maybe with time, he could focus this better, but for now, he didn't know the first thing about it.

His body should be resting right now, recovering from the massive changes that has taken place in it, instead, it's been breaking hands, punching walls, running through city alley-ways, and now, walking in the snow.

The traveler felt something warm on his chest. He looked down to see that his bandaged torso had blood seeping though the medical tape. He cursed to himself as his pace slowed, the cold stabbing at him, his pain growing.

The snowfall was constant now, covering the ground in freezing ice crystals. The traveler wore no shoes, and his feet had gone numb from the bitter cold.

He grew dizzy from both the winter weather and his blood loss. His breathing grew heavy, the cold was making it hard to breathe.

He tried to endure further down the road, trying to find some sort of shelter, but his vision started to blur. He noticed some caves far off in the distance, but in his current condition, there's no way he'd make it there.

He let go of his right arm, now applying pressure with his free hand on the increasing blood-flow coming form his chest.

"...D-Damn...it..." He struggled to say as he started seeing black.

Was he really going to die here? Was this a fitting end to his short life? Would nature be the one to kill him?

These thoughts played in his mind, but not for long as he collapsed on the snowy path below him.

He managed to blink once or twice on the ground before everything grew black. He could go no further. He felt himself slip into unconsciousness.

--

"Here we are," Ariston said to Buizel and Shinx. "The Oreburgh City Gate."

The three travelers looked up at the large rocky formation, and the entrance to the dark cave.

The Oreburgh City Gate was simply a rock formation that workers had cut a hole though, in order to make it so that trainers could go from Route 203 to Oreburgh City. It was pretty convenient.

Not only was it useful, the entire cave was only about a mile and a half long, just a quick trip through here and they'd be in Oreburgh City.

"Lets head in." Ariston said confidently as the group walked inside the cave.

Upon entering, Ariston immediately noticed the large cave's ceiling, or lack there of, it stretched on into the blackness, much higher than they could see.

The path was lit with lanterns hanging on the wall, but for the most part, the cave was pretty dim. The ground was damp and cold as they ventured further inside, the walls made the tunnel pretty narrow, probably wide enough for a large car to fit through though

The cave's rock was an ugly dark brown color, with the obvious marks of man made machines that had cut through them decorating the tunnel's walls.

Some wild Geodude huddled in some of the darker corners, shooting Ariston aggressive glares.

Watching cautiously the wild Pokemon around them, Shinx and Buizel stayed close to their masters feet.

Shinx had to be the most careful, his electric attacks would be useless against these rock Pokemon.

Buizel, being the curious little thing she is, got her attention grabbed by a rather large Geodude who was alone atop a loose rock.

Buizel ran to approach it with out hesitation, as she was curious if this Geodude would play with her like Shinx had.

Ariston yelled for Buizel to stop, but that didn't slow her down, she immediately approached the large rock Pokemon who then looked down from his rock, and narrowed his eyes at the Buizel who stood on her hind legs examining him, much like she had with Shinx.

The Geodude didn't want any intruders in his area, and so with out wasting any time, took a swing with his rocky arm at the little Buizel.

"Buizel, shit! Lookout!" Ariston yelled as he saw the unusually muscular Geodude take a swing at his new Buizel. "A direct attack from that thing could -kill- her." He thought, as Shinx ran over to help.

As the Geodude swung at the inquisitive Buizel, she realized the danger of the situation and ducked her head under the hefty fist of the angry Geodude.

Ariston let out a sigh of relief.

Now seeing that this wasn't a friendly Pokemon, the Buizel let out a much, -much-, more powerful water blast than she had sprayed Shinx and Ariston with.

The blast of water from Buizel's mouth struck Geodude's center, and completely drenched him. Geodude were weak against water, and due to the force of Buizel's attack, the Geodude was pushed off his rock onto the ground.

Not wanting any further harm, the Geodude scampered into the darkness of one of the caves natural crevasses.

"Wow," Ariston said in surprise, "good job, Buizel, way to go.". He knew Buizel had an advantage over Geodudes, but didn't expect so much force paced in his new water Pokemon's attacks.

"With attacks like that, we might be able to handle the Oreburgh City Gym Leader easier than I thought." He told her, "We'll train you some more later once we reach the city."

Having learned her lesson, Buizel didn't willingly approach any more wild Pokemon in the cave.

Inevitably, some other aggressive Geodudes had attacked them along the way, along with the occasional wild Zubat.

Buizel was able to handle the Geodudes with ease, while Shinx managed to fight off the Zubat with some powerful electric discharges.

They made pretty good time though the cave, occasionally stopping to fight wild Pokemon, and taking a quick break for lunch.

He had the standard Poke-chow for Shinx and Buizel, and a take-out hamburger that he'd ordered as they were leaving "The Traveling Trainer" in the morning.

Shinx seemed upset at having to eat the bland Poke-chow, as it didn't compare to his colossal breakfast.

Buizel didn't seem to mind, she usually just ate what ever wildlife she could catch. Something already dead to eat was a nice change for her.

"Haha, don't worry guys, we'll get you some real food once we reach the city." Ariston told his Pokemon reassuringly.

After they finished eating, they continued their way to the other side of the cave, fighting some more Zubat, Geodude, and the occasional Machop.

By the time they reached the exit to the cave, about a half an hour later, both his Pokemon had grown much stronger.

Exiting the cave, he let his eyes fix upon the large city of Oreburgh, The Mining Town. He immediately noticed the Pokemon Gym as he made his way onto the city streets, it was the largest building in the area.

"We're not ready yet," he told his to eager Pokemon who stared at the large Pokemon Gymnasium, "but we will be soon, don't you worry.".

Ariston looked at his phone once again for the time, "4:42 PM" it read.

"Alright, let's get some training in, then we'll grab some dinner and head to sleep, sound good?" Ariston asked his Pokemon.

They both replied with a happy nod, willing to do whatever their master had in mind.

Ariston smiled confidentially at his two Pokemon, grateful that they'd made so much progress already. He then led his Pokemon to the outskirts of town to find some more wild Pokemon to spar with.

Ariston was so excited of training his Pokemon, he didn't even notice the now more active egg in his backpack.

It was getting ready to hatch.

--

The traveler lay in the snow, his muscles numb and his consciousness lost, the strong winter winds brushing snow upon his broken body. The medical bracelet clenched in his hand was swept away by a gust of wind, and onto the ground, quickly buried with snow.

He was not alone, though.

A calm, furry, yellow-gold foot was quick to stand aside the bracelet, and pick it up.

She couldn't read human words, but she held onto it just incase.

Standing over the man lying in the snow...She thought to herself, "Humm I thought I smelled a Pokemon over here...Guess it was just this guy.".

She nudged him with her foot, and he slumped over unresponsively. "Sure is an odd place to take a nap." She said.

"Aww, I wanted to battle another Pokemon before I went in for the night, the snow's getting pretty bad..." The female Pokemon said in a pouting tone. "Pffrt, what kind of human sleeps out in the middle of nowhere covered in snow?"

"Looks awfully uncomfortable to me...Maybe I should take him back to my cave, at least it's a little bit warmer in there..."

She knelt down and shook the man on the side of the road. The travelers still unconscious body limp to her touch.

"Lazy oaf" she said to herself, "Guess I'll carry you. Ya owe me for this buddy.".

She hefted the man off the ground, and onto her reddened shoulders. She was pretty strong, despite her appearance, and had a minimal amount of difficulty carrying this man to her nearby cave.

"Urgh, you're heavier than you look." She told the unconscious man, "What's your name anyway?".

No response.

"Common, you have to have a nameeee." She teased, unaware that the man on her shoulder was still very unconscious.

"Fine, guess you're not too talkative." She continued.

After walking the rest of the way to her cave, occasionally trying to strike up a conversation with the unconscious man she was carrying, finally reached her destination out of the cold.

She dumped the man down, and he hit the cave floor with a rather loud 'THUD'.

"Oops." She said as she realized she'd dropped the man on his face.

Her cave was pretty small, maybe room for three people, also with enough room to stand, and it provided shelter from the building snowstorm outside, so it was their home for now.

She rolled the man over onto his back and noticed the blood stain on his chest.

"Looks like you're in pretty bad shape, huh?" She asked him yet again.

There was a pause of silence as the impatient Pokemon waited for a response sitting beside the man.

"Are you dead?" She then asked innocently.

Still, no answer.

She sighed and lit a small pile of twigs and leaves on fire in the center of the cave with a breath from her mouth.

"Whatever...See ya in the morning." She said, laying down on the cave floor next to the fire.

"Unless you're dead, then I wont see you..Ya know, cause you're...dead and all." She continued as she closed her eyes.

Having a quick idea, she sat up again, making use of the stranger in her cave.

The Pokemon adjusted her uncomfortable position from the ground, and lay with her head on the mans chest as a pillow.

"...You don't mind do ya?" She asked, taking obvious advantage of the mans current condition.

There was a moment of silence

"S'what I thought."

The Pokemon then quickly fell asleep, with her head resting on her new unconscious friend.


	4. Chapter Four: A New Life Together

Hey everyone reading the story.

I originally posed this story as an alternate source for my work, but I've gotten alot of views in a short amount of time :P

Lots of stuff happens in this chapter, hope you all enjoy.

Thanks to everyone who's reading, I get all my inspiration to write from emails and reviews.

By the way, If you'd like to contact me with any ideas or suggestions about the story, I'm open for it.

Email

Anyway, here's Chapter Four.

Word Count 8,000

--

Chapter Four: A New Life Together

The sun slowly rose out of the eastern horizon, as it always does, filling the two sleeping traveler's cave with a shade of golden light.

"Five more minutes..." The crimson Pokemon said in her dazed, gentle voice as the Sun eased her awake. The Pokemon let out a groan of annoyance as the sunshine grew brighter.

She rolled over, still with her head resting upon the unconscious traveler, and drifted back into sleep. The rhythmic breathing of her 'pillow' gently moved her head up and down as the travelers chest inhaled and exhaled.

"Guess you're not dead after all..." She whispered, eyes still shut, feeling the traveler's rhythmic exhales on her face.

Although the warm Sun had risen, snow still fell outside the cave at a large rate. A good amount of snow had been blown into the cave overnight by the strong winds outside. It still looked pretty rough out there.

The fire that the Pokemon had lit in the center of the cave had long burned itself to ashes. The overall temperature inside the cave started to drop to a chilling degree.

No longer able to sleep anymore, due to both the uncomfortable nature of the cave's floor and the continuous dropping temperature, the fire Pokemon sat herself upright.

She let out an audible yawn and slowly stretched her arms in the air, waking her body up. She blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the morning twilight. The Pokemon immediately felt the cold air blowing against her body from the weather outside, and shivered. More and more snow was pushing it's way inside the cave.

The Pokemon examined the small pile of ashes that remained of her fire from last night. Sifting though them, she unfortunately found that she had nothing left to burn.

She'd never freeze to death in anything short of a colossal blizzard, of course. She was a fire type Pokemon, and had a high external and internal body temperature, which kept her warm. If she got intolerably cold, she could always breathe a small bit of fire onto her own body to warm up.

The concern for temperature was not for her own sake, but rather the traveler who lay aside her. He wore nothing but some torn up robe, a thin T-Shirt, and some run-down jeans. Not exactly winter clothes.

Another shiver ran though her body as a strong cold breeze flooded the cave and brushed some snow up against her. She hated the snow. The Pokemon exhales a small warm flame on her hands and warmed her body. Man, did she hate everything about the winter months.

She brushed the snow away with a few swipes of her hands, and got most of it off her body and that of the travelers, who was either sleeping, or still unconscious. The fire Pokemon sat on her knees as she examined the strange person before her.

Letting her curiosity get ahold of her, she started checking out some of the mans features. He had a chiseled face that seemed starved, and gaunt from the constant wear of traveling so much. Carefully, she started to remove his thin robe to try get a better look at the bandages on his arms. She sat him up, and slid the thin piece of clothing off of him, leaving him in his small white T-Shirt.

She lay him gently back down again and took a closer look at his arms. He had bandages wrapped around his forearms, wrists, biceps, and hands, only lacking them at his elbows and shoulders. Raising one of his arms off the ground, she looked at his hands. The medical tape was completely ripped off at his knuckles.

"You're a pretty weird guy, you know." She told the man, who was still unresponsive.

Continuing on her curious rant, she gave his bandaged biceps a pinch with her fingers.

"Ooh." She exclaimed quietly as she felt their firmness, "Not bad, stranger.".

She peeled up his tiny shirt to get a look at where the bloodstain had come from. She cringed when she saw the cross-shaped stitches in the center of his chest. The cold weather had clotted the blood-flow, and stopped the bleeding, which was good, he wouldn't bleed to death in a snowstorm like this.

She couldn't help but notice his chiseled abdominal muscles. She giggled to herself.

"Not bad at all."

The Pokemon then pulled his shirt back down over his stomach. She placed a hand on his chest, feeling it moving up and down as he inhaled, then exhaled, seems he still wasn't dead. Good. At least she wasn't sharing a cave with a dead guy.

The Pokemon then continued squeezing other various muscles on his body, now enjoying the fact he was in excellent shape. She almost didn't notice his closed eyes begin to shutter.

The traveler on the ground let out an involuntary sigh as he started to recover from his state of unawareness.

Happy to hear the man's first signs of life, she turned her attention to his face, happily waiting for him to awake.

Nothing happened.

Her eagerness dissipated as she looked upon his face once more. She reached a down and gently brushed the man's hair out of his face, shaking him slightly.

He was still unresponsive.

"Hey!" She said sternly, shaking him a little rougher, and now leaning closer to his head.

"Wake up!" The Pokemon commanded.

Still nothing, but a tiny movement of his eyelids.

Seeing this small twitch, the female Pokemon leaned her face in closer and closer to him, looking for any other signs of life.

"Hellooooo?"

Still with no response, she leaned in closer still. Her face was now a mere inches away from the travelers, their noses practically touching. She felt his warm breath on her face, her golden eyes staring into his closed lids.

The Pokemon grinned as she heard him let out another sigh, beginning to stir once more, as he struggled to awake.

The man's eyelids slowly crept open, squinting as his vision faded from black to color. He saw nothing but images that were spotty and blurry. He remained still as he waited for his eyesight to return, just a small sliver of his emerald eyes peeking though his eyelids.

The Pokemon smiled as she saw him started to wake, forgetting how close she was to his now alert face.

The traveler blinked a few times, and opened his eyes further. No thoughts of the night prior crossed his mind, he only focused on what was happening now. He struggled to focus his vision on the red blur he saw in front of him.

As his vision fully returned, the man started into the Pokemon's face directly on top of his own. He blinked once before any thoughts registered.

Suddenly his brain alerted him of what was happening, and he acted on instinct. His eyebrows raised and his pupils widened as his body reacted in shock to the scare of being woken up to another starting at him the moment he returned to consciousness.

She just smiled ear to ear at him as she stared to see him recover.

The man didn't have such a peaceful reaction.

Flashing back to the man holding him against the wall in the alley way, and remembering the anger he felt, as soon as his brain came to terms he knew what to do.

The man let out a rough, deep yell, both in anger and surprise.

The fire Pokemon's eyes widened as she moved her face back in surprise.

He placed his right hand on the ground, pushing off of it and instantly sitting himself up, his other hand wrapped around the Pokemon's neck. Before she even realized what was happening, he sprang up off of the ground, and rolled to his side, gripping, and roughly squeezing the Pokemon's neck.

The man had shifted positions with the Pokemon who was previously kneeling beside him. He was now on top of her, as she was forced onto the ground, flat on her back. The man's free hand was drawn back and balled into a fist as he was prepared to strike.

The Pokemon beneath him, barely able to breathe, was now helpless. She couldn't even take in oxygen, not to mention exhaling any sort of flame to free herself.

The man's teeth were bared and his eye's narrowed at the sight below him.

He let out another low, raspy, sort of growl.

The Pokemon closed her eyes and turned her head away in fear as she struggled to respire. She desperately gripped one of her hands on his, trying to remove it from her neck. The other on his chest, trying to push him off, but to no avail.

He legs kicked and wrapped around the man.

She let out a muffled cry in fear as she slowly was suffocated.

--

Ariston awoke instantly out of his box-spring bed at the Orebrugh City Trainers Lodge as soon as the sun shone though the window.

He was too excited to sleep the night prior, and couldn't wait to get up today. That was quite rare for Ariston.

He smiled to himself as he sat up out of bed and recalled his evening yesterday after he entered the city.

He remembered he originally just wanted to train on some weaker wild Pokemon to try and prepare his two Pokemon for the Gym Leader. His evening was much more eventful than he expected.

As he walked around the outskirts of town, looking for Pokemon, the -first- one he had came across almost gave him a heart attack.

The little guy had ran across Ariston's path from his left, and scampered into a pile of tall grass on his right.

He caught a glimpse of the guy, and realized what it was.

"No way!" He said aloud to himself, the Pokemon at his feet now looking at him anxiously, "A Turtwig? Here?".

The little guy poked his head out of the grass, to examine the trainer and his Pokemon, then swiftly withdrew it.

Turtwigs were incredibly rare to find in the wild. Seemed this was Ariston's lucky day.

Of course, the three top students at the Pokemon Academy were given their choice of a Chimchar, Turtwig, or Pinlup each year, but Ariston wasn't exactly 'straight-A' material. He wasn't the dumbest kid in the class (in fact, that title may have belonged Conti), but he really didn't want to spend every waking hour on school. He was usually a B student, with the occasional A. That didn't make a bit of difference now though, grades didn't matter to the wild Pokemon in the grass before him.

He was psyched to even -see- a Turtwig in the wild.

Buizel immediately dove into the grass to investigate. Buizel was in the grass for a few mere second before she was promptly knocked back out by the defense little Turtwig, not wanting any intruders.

Buizel, not being one to give up, dove right back in.

Ariston wasn't able to see what was happening, but he saw the grass rustle violently as the two Pokemon wrestled inside. A few seconds passed with various noises coming from the Pokemon inside.

Buizel was hit out again.

Now, Buizel started to get irritated. She shook her head a bit as she returned to her feet, and dove into the grass a third time.

After more rustling of the tall grass, Ariston stood waiting for his Buizel to get knocked out yet again.

They scampered through the grass for a few minutes before the Turtwig came rolling out, along with Buizel wrapped around it.

Shinx just stood patiently and watched his friend Buizel battle with the Pokemon.

Now out in the open, the Turtwig was more than ready and willing to fight.

Buizel automatically let out a full power water blast, in hopes of ending the fight quickly like she had with so many Geodudes. The water jet struck the Turtwig directly in the face, causing him to stagger backwards, if only from it's surprise.

Buizel ended the stream of water and stood up curiously on her hind legs to see if the Turtwig still wanted to fight after such a direct hit. The Turtwig stood there unfazed as water dripped off it's face, looking now more aggravated.

She tilted her head in disarray.

"Buizel," Ariston told his confused Pokemon, "water attacks won't do much harm to it, try something else."

Looking back at her master as he spoke, Buizel didn't notice the charging Turtwig closing the distance between them.

The Turtwig's head connected into Buizel's midsection, causing her to let out a yelp of pain as she was knocked back, and onto the ground.

Shinx let out a cry of concern as he saw his friend struggle to recover from the hard hit. Shinx knew he had to stay back though, double teaming a Pokemon wouldn't be fair. Ariston had made it very clear to them that unless there were multiple Pokemon attacking them, they had to be fair and only go one on one.

As much as Shinx wanted to help, he refrained.

The Turtwig stood confidently in Buizel's previous position, awaiting her to stand up.

Soon enough, Buizel was back up, standing on all four paws, she cautiously prepared to attack again.

"Use Swift, Buizel." Ariston commanded, trying to coach his Pokemon.

Taking her master's advice, she opened her mouth, then quickly launching a flurry of tiny, jagged, bits of hard material.

Swift was a unique attack to some specific water Pokemon. Tiny pieces of material are gathered and condensed when the Pokemon takes in and stores water. The material is usually some sort of tiny pond pebble, or bark. They're gathered together and prepared to launch in battle as an alternative to water. The attack is similar to a shotgun blast, and is pretty tough to avoid.

The Turtwig took a step backwards and closed it's eyes as it braced for the shards to hit him. The ferocity and duration of the attack buffered the Turtwig for a multitude of seconds before ceasing.

"Nice, Buizel, now get in there!" Ariston continued commanding his Pokemon.

Shortly after Buizel expelled her projectiles, she began running the Turtwig, intending to knock him down, and hopefully, weaken him enough to be captured.

She scampered and sprinted as fast as he long body and tiny legs could take her.

Before Buizel could get close enough to the Turtwig, he had already recovered. Opening his eyes once again, Turtwig stopped Buizel dead in her tracks with a large amount of hard, tiny seeds shot from the small plant atop his head.

Buizel was knocked back and spun around by this attack. Many had made direct hits before Buizel made it out of the way.

Shinx crouched down, stood up, then crouched down again, hiding behind his mater's foot, and anxiously watching the fight.

The launching of seeds died down, as Buizel struggled to remain standing.

"Hang in there, just a little more." Ariston said more to himself than his Buizel.

Now tired from it's own attack, Turtwig started to breathe heavily. Seeing this as an opportunity, Buizel made another run at Turtwig. Her body ached. The Bullet Seed attack felt like getting tiny rocks thrown at you. Regardless, she didn't intend on stopping now. If there's one thing she had learned in the wild, it's that if you give up, you die. She knew her master wouldn't allow her to die in battle, but her instincts still told her to keep fighting.

The Trutwig tried to hit Buizel with another flurry of Bullet Seeds, but before he could, Buizel was right in front of his face.

Not wasting any time, Buizel made contact, headbutting the Turtwig directaly between the eyes.

A large contact sound filled the air around them. The noise reminded Ariston of slamming a heavy textbook down on an empty desk.

Now dizzy with recoil due to both the fact that she had struck hit quite hard, and that Turtwigs skull was much harder than hers, she took a few staggered steps backwards, eyes closed with the pain in her head. Both Pokemon letting out annoyed groans of pain.

Even though Turtwigs pain was alot less than Buizel's at this point, it distracted him enough and caused him to cringe on contact.

Seeing this, Ariston drew one of his empty pokeballs and in a flash, threw it at the distracted Turtwig.

It captured him in the red light, and quickly took him inside.

The pokeball shook on the ground for a moment, as Ariston held his breath.

Buizel opened on eye as she still endured the annoying pain in her head, regretting that stupid move she made.

After a lifetime, the low monotone confirmation chime sounded, and the Turtwig was caught.

"Yes! Great job, Buizel." He said confidently to his small, slightly injured Pokemon. "Maybe next time you shouldn't headbutt something with a skull twice the size of yours." he joked.

Buizel shook her head a few times, trying to get rid of her now pounding headache, and ran back to her master.

Ariston picked up his new Pokemon off the ground and examined the pokeball. He decided it'd be better to let the Turtwig settle down before letting him out again. He placed the pokeball on his belt and continued walking. He couldn't believe his luck so far, and wanted to see if there were any other Pokemon around.

Shinx and Buizel walked with Ariston as they continued down the dirt path on the on outskirts of Oreburgh. Soon enough, they found a pretty tough looking Machop lazily walking around, who was just coming out for the beginning night. Ariston let Shinx have this fight.

Ariston always let Shinx battle the Machop he found. They were tough, but he knew his Shinx was tougher. They were a challenge for him though, which he liked.

The Machop noticed the Shinx eyeing him, and turned his attention to the little flash Pokemon. Not wasting any time, the Machop ran at Shinx with a balled up fist, ready to strike him.

Shinx looked pitifully at the Machop as he took a large, easily avoided swing at Shinx. He ducked his head as the Pokemon's arm passed over him.

Shinx then built up his charge in a matter of seconds, much faster and more precise than he had than in his battle with Crogunk.

Shinx, surrounded in a dull yellow electric field, sprang up and made contact with the Machop's stomach. As soon as their bodies touched, Shinx discharged. The dull yellow light grew much brighter as it surrounded the Machop yelling in pain.

The discharge lasted for a few seconds, then died down.

The Machop had no desire to fight any longer, and ran back to wherever he had came from. He then saw a light different than that of his charge growing around Shinx. Ariston smiled as he saw his Pokemon look back at him with a grin on his face, as the light grew.

Ariston knew exactly what was happening. Buizel was mesmerized by the event.

The light around Shinx continued to grow as he began to change shape. The silhouette of his body, now surrounded in light, grew larger and more muscular. Compared to his previous Shinx's size, the silhouette of this new Pokemon was much larger, the approximate size of a great dane. His former Shinx let out a deeper, more toned and ferocious, "Nhaa!" as his body finished growing.

The light dimmed down, and reviled that his former Shinx had grown much larger, with more amounts of dark blue fur covering his face, and much, much more muscle mass on his body and legs. The Pokemon crackled energy around his body effortlessly.

Ariston proudly examined his new Luxio.

Buizel, now realizing her friend had evolved, quickly ran to him and looked over his improved form. Luxio playfully gave out a louder, "Nhaa!" slightly scaring Buizel with the deepened tone.

Seemed the battle with the Macho gave him the tiny bit of experience needed to evolve.

Now with the tables turned, Luxio began chasing Buizel around the grassy fields, having some fun before the sun set. That was the first time Ariston had even seen an evolution. It was an amazing event, the white light enveloping his Pokemon, then in an instant, he was something totally different. His little Shinx had changed and grown so much stronger in just those few seconds. How evolution worked was still something relatively unknown about Pokemon. Ariston didn't understand the least bit about evolution, but the one thing he was sure of was the fact that his new Luxio would be the same Pokemon as the Shinx he'd come to know.

Ariston let the two play around the grassy fields. The ran circles around his feet as they chased each other. He eventually settled the Pokemon down, and made a quick trip to the Pokemon Center to heal his team. It was late. Ariston and his Pokemon headed to the Oreburgh Trainers Lodge for the night.

Ariston finished his recollection of the night by looking over at his three pokeballs at his bedside. He then stood up, got dressed, gathered his things, and headed outside.

He couldn't wait to take on the Gym Leader now.

--

The struggling Pokemon let out a weak cough as the traveler let go of her neck.

He had realized what he was doing, and quickly released her, he saw that she was harmless, and that this creature had no intention of endangering him. He lowered his fist.

The Pokemon who lay under this man continued to cough as her lungs filled with air again. She rubbed her hands around her own neck, inspecting for any damaged caused by the man's powerful grip.

"Jeeze, what are you, crazy?! I saved you from the snow and this is what I get?" She said coughing, quite irritated, and in her unique Pokemon language, not expecting this human to understand her, "Maybe I should've left 'ya."

"S-sorry." He replied hesitantly to her in the same Pokemon language.

Now forgetting the fact that she had just almost died, she was must more interested by the fact that he could understand her, not to mention -speak- to her.

"Woah," The Pokemon said, stopping for a second to re-look over the man, making -sure- he was a man, and not just an odd looking Pokemon, "you can...understand me?".

"Yeah." He replied, "Y-You're a, Blaziken, right?" he continued, instinctively knowing what Pokemon she was, and how to speak the Pokemon language. He looked her body over now, not having a chance to before with strangling her and all. All this, while still on top of her.

Now realizing the position they were in, Blaziken brightly blushed. She unwrapped her legs from the man's back, who was standing on his knees, sat up, and slid out from under him. If someone had walked in on them in that position, it would have looked very, very suggestive.

"Yeah, I'm a Blaziken." She said, as her blushing was still very evident, now sitting cross legged on the floor, "What about you, you're not like any Pokemon I've ever seen."

The man leaned back and sat on his legs from his kneeling position, and replied in an unsure tone,

"I, I don't think I am one...".

Blaziken rubbed her head in confusion.

"Are you sick? Your face looks colored strangely." The man said after a few seconds of silence, meeting her gaze.

Realizing she was still blushing, Blaziken let out a nervous laugh as his words caused her face to grow even brighter.

"Oh uh, haha, I'm uh, I'm fine." She spat out.

There was an awkward silence.

"Okay...So, uh, you're probably not a Pokemon, you look like a man, yet somehow...can speak my language." She explained to him changing the subject, still feeling awkward from being in that 'position' with him. "It's a pretty well known, and uh, obvious fact that humans aren't able to speak the Pokemon language...so, uh, whathehell?".

She didn't really care about the answer though, honestly she was more preoccupied thinking about the kind of position they were in before...His well muscled body on top of hers, her legs wrapped around his body...As much as she hated to admit it, she was unquestionably, undoubtedly, -turned on- by him, and couldn't help but think of them...doing something more erotic in that position. She knew it'd be wrong to be attracted to a human, but...well this guy was obviously something else, so it was okay...right?

Not sure what to think, her eyes focused on the man shaking his head, showing he had no answer for her question.

"Alright...Thennn, do you have a name?" She asked, trying to get back on topic and suppress the growing excitement between her legs. She didn't want to reveal her attraction to this stranger, for all she knew he could be just some random psychopath.

Blaziken's words wrung hollow in the man's ears, his eyes looking around the cave.

A few seconds passed with no response.

Blaziken scrunched her face and made a sound of annoyance when she didn't receive an answer.

"You're just as chatty as you were when you were unconscious..." She mumbled to herself.

His eyes fixed upon the white band of plastic on the ground. The medical tag that he was holding when he fell. It was lying at the cave's entrance, a part of it covered in snow. The man, paying no attention to the now aggravated Blaziken eyeing him, stood himself up and made his way over to it.

He stood over his name tag, and bent down to pick it up, causing the stitches in his chest to ache once more. Ignoring the pain, he held it in front of his face.

"Oh that thing?" She said facetiously, "Yeah, that was next to you when you were face down eating snow on the road. I found it when I saved you. And carried it with here while I was saving you. Then set it on the ground in the cave after I saved you. Not to mention the fact that, I SAVED YOU." She said, trying to extract praise and thanks for her heroic act.

Ignoring her cries for attention, he read the words printed on it.

"SUBJECT 14" He said to himself.

"So that's what that thing says, eh?" The Blaziken said to him, not being able to read it herself. She started standing up, and walked over the small pile of ashes in the center of the cave to stand beside him. "Yeah, that's not much of a name you know."

"It's the only thing I own." The man said, lost in his thoughts remembering the dreams he has had, and what the medical tag meant.

Blaziken just raised an eyebrow at his weird behavior.

"I'm totally not calling you Subject 14 all the time, that's pretty dumb ya know."

The man just turned and stared at her inquisitively.

"See, in my species, we don't give out names at birth." She explained to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, motioning him to back wall of the cave away from the snowfall outside. "When a Blaziken finds a mate, and they are joined, they give each other names, it's like a bonding thing." She continued.

"Me, I don't have any specific name yet, I'm just Blaziken, so you can call me that. Now, we don't even know what Pokemon, or really, what species you are so..."

The man just continued his confused stare at her, they were now at the back of the cave away from the snowfall outside, the heat from Blaziken's toned, slender body radiating off her. He couldn't help notice how fit she looked, it seemed that this Blaziken was defiantly battle-hardened.

She even 'accidentally' rubbed her breasts on his chest as they were sitting down, she giggled to herself as she noticed his slight jumpiness to her touch. Maybe it was the painful stitches that caused him to jump, maybe he was a little attracted to her, she liked to think it was the latter.

Now sitting on the ground, with Blaziken at his left, he turned to her.

"What would you like to do then?"

A million thoughts raced though Blaziken's head, while she thought of all the things she -really- wanted to do with him, to him. She pictured them in that...position again. She pictured him without his torn clothes on, grabbing her hips and bringing them to his, awaiting his entrance into her...She quickly realized she was blushing again and dismissed her dirty thoughts, as she realized that's clearly not what he meant.

An evil smile crept over her face, as she spoke in a menacing voice:

"I guess I get to name you then."

The man's eyes widened.

--

Ariston was excited over his new team, -two- of them would be super effective against any rock type Pokemon, and Luxio had just evolved, and probably able to take out anything he didn't have a strategic type-advantage over.

Ariston took his team to the building accross the street from the Trainers Lodge. It was just a little cafe, but they allowed Pokemon inside. It was a good place to get ready for the Gym battle.

Over breakfast, Ariston released the little Turtwig he had caught the night prior and welcomed him to the team. Pokemon are usually happy to be retrieved from the wild, unless they're torn from their families. Law doesn't state that Pokemon who are reluctant to be caught must be returned, but most trainers with a conscience would release a Pokemon if it truly didn't want to join their team.

Turtwig seemed happy enough, with Ariston, Buizel and Luxio already treating him like a member of the team. Turtwig was looking forward to fighting somewhere outside of the wild. As most Pokemon knew, you're able to grow stronger much faster when with a trainer. Turtwig saw this as an adventure.

Ariston sat at a flimsy iron table in the outside portion of the resturant. He liked the cold air in the morning, it woke both himself and his Pokemon up in the morning. He had gathered some loose chairs from the tables around him for his Pokemon to sit on while they waited for the waitress.

"Just something light, you guys," he told his Pokemon, "we don't want anything slowing you down today."

Ariston placed his backpack on the table, and unzipped it. He stared at the light grey egg inside, his eyes examining the living being he'd be carrying on his back for the past few days. He didn't know when, or if this thing was ever going to hatch, but honestly, it was part of the team and deserved to be around the other Pokemon.

As the waitress approached him, he ordered some light dishes for his Pokemon. Some cashews for Turtwig, and fruit for Buizel and Luxio. Ariston ordered nothing for himself, he was too excited to have an appetite.

As they waited for their food, Ariston decided to go over a quick strategy he'd been thinking up for the Gym leader with his Pokemon.

Ariston opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could escape his mouth, he stopped and diverted all his attention to his backpack.

The egg was shaking.

This wasn't like before, this time, it was almost rolling his backpack off the table. The Pokemon and Airston all stared at the odd thing in its shaking fury. Ariston guided the shaking egg away from the edges of the table, but other than that, left it undisturbed.

"Wow," he said aloud, "that thing's getting pretty restless in there.".

He watched the egg roll about for a few minutes, before it's shaking eventually died down. Seeing that the Pokemon inside had just been moving again, and not hatching, Ariston turned back to face his Pokemon.

He opened his mouth again to try and begin talking over his strategy to his Pokemon, and was cut short again.

He heard a small cracking sound.

"No way..." He thought in disbelief.

He looked over at the egg again...nothing was happening.

Ariston waited.

Then, a tiny blue paw, balled up in a fist, burst its way out of the egg.

Ariston's eyebrows jumped and his heart began to beat faster as he saw the event unfold. This egg was really -hatching- here, right before his first Gym battle. After two and a half years in his fathers possession, it had chosen to burst out of it's shell after only a few days with Ariston. The three Pokemon watched intently the egg before them, having seen nothing like it before.

Quickly following the paw, another hand was quick to burst out of the shell, much in the same manner the first one had.

Ariston watched speechlessly.

The tiny blue arms flailed about for a few seconds before the top of the egg began to crack. The Pokemon inside the shell struggled and pushed. The egg shook more violently as it started to crack in more places. It's dark grey color now riddled with fractures running throughout it's numerous blue spots.

With no more delay, the egg shattered. The tiny dark blue body of the Pokemon inside let out a confused yelp as it performed an accidental summersault on the table after cracking free from the egg. Lying on it's back, it's dark red eyes locked with the light blue of Ariston's.

Ariston's face lit up with happiness. The little Pokemon was free. He knew exactly what it was too, an incredibly gifted breed. A Riolu. A female Riolu.

Riolu looked curiously at Ariston's mesmerized face, blinking a few times lying on her back. A cute little smile then came across the Riolu's face to match Ariston's.

"Well hey there." He said, reaching his hand out to pet the tiny grinning Pokemon, "Welcome to the outside world."

Riolu rolled over onto her stomach as Ariston rubbed the top of her head. She then attempted to wobbly gain balance on her feet. While attempting to stand, she quickly fall back down on the iron table. Her body was still adjusting form being out of the egg.

Ariston watched in amusement as the Riolu shook her head in a determined fashion when he had offered his hand in help. She wanted to do this on her own.

Pushing off of her tiny blue hands, she brought her self up to her little black legs, on the toes of her tiny black paws.

She stood before him happy with her success, a healthy young, confident Riolu.

"Hi". He heard a young female voice say.

Suprised, Ariston looked behind him for the source of the female talking to him.

"No silly, over here.". He looked back down at the table. The Riolu still standing before him, nearly at eye level.

Ariston continued to look around the restaurant for a source of the voice.

The newly hatched Riolu face-palmed.

A tiny blue paw gently flicked Ariston's nose. He looked down to see his Riolu again staring into his eyes.

"Here." He heard the voice, the Riolu's mouth not moving, "A Riolu can communicate with their Masters, silly."

Ariston's mouth dropped as he saw the barely hatched Pokemon speak to him in a gentile woman's voice...

"Woa--I, you, Riolu, wow." He stammered.

He remembered hearing about the Riolu and Lucario in class, how they bonded with their master's Aura, and were able to speak with them, but never though he'd actually experience it.

"That's all your going to say?" The cheecky Riolu said again, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow," he forced out again, "that's, that's amazing.".

Riolu gave her new master a grin, then spun around to the three Pokemon eyeing her like she was some sort of Alien. Riolu sat on the edge of the table as she started to speak with the three other Pokemon in their language.

Ariston was still for the most part in shock, this was -amazing-. This little creature that he'd be carrying out of his backpack wasn't just a Pokemon. As great as it was having Luxio, Buizel and Turtwig around, it got pretty lonely at times not having anyone who he could actually understand. Riolu though, was something totally different.

Ariston, finally letting his thoughts process, began to feel some sort of filter develop in his head. Much like how he knew the difference between words he thought and words he spoke, he now felt like he could distinguish between words he thought and...well, something else.

The sensation was slight, but it felt quite foreign to Ariston. Not knowing what to make of it, he decided to experement. He concentrated a bit.

"R-Riolu?" He thought, though his mind's new filter.

"Mm?" She returned, turing her head away from conversing with his Pokemon.

"Wow!" He said audibly, "You can hear that?".

"Sure can." She said again with a smile, turning back to Ariston's Pokemon. She wanted to get to know them. Ariston didn't know it, but she was asking about him to his Pokemon. Riolu's were very picky about their masters.

"What's he like?" She asked all three, after exchanging greetings.

Luxio was the first to respond.

"Ariston? I've know him for a year, he's a great guy. I'm glad I have him as my master rather than some hardcore jerk of a trainer. Everywhere we go, I see wild Pokemon eyeing us enviously, they see how well Ariston treats his Pokemon."

"Ooh," She returned, impressed by Luxio's high opinion of Ariston.

"He's jumpy," Buizel offered, recalling his reaction when she'd sprayed him in the crotch numerous times, "but overall, I think he's a good guy. Easy to surprise too."

She took that into consideration, then looked at Turtwig.

"Huh? Oh, uh, I just joined everyone yesterday," He said, "but from how he handled Buizel when she battled me, I think he's probably a pretty smart trainer."

Riolu swung her feet back and fourth and waved her tail casually as she listened to the Pokemon talk to her about Ariston. After getting all the information about him, she turned around again to see Ariston waiting patiently for the four Pokemon to finish their conversation.

"Your Pokemon think quite highly of you, you know." Ariston heard in his head again, "I wasn't sure weather I had hatched at the right time or not, I see now I made a good choice.". She closed her eyes and gave him another happy grin.

"I'm glad to hear it, Riolu, I'm sure you'll love traveling with us." Ariston said to her though the filter in his mind, flattered by whatever his Pokemon had said about him to make Riolu so impressed.

Her red eyes studied him for a moment as she sat of the edge of the table in front of him.

"Noah, huh?"

"Wha?" Ariston said aloud, not knowing what to think.

"Your name. It's Noah, right?"

"W-Well yeah, but how did you..." He started.

"I can read Aura, it reveals more than you'd think about a person."

"Wow."

"Is that the only thing you're gonna say today?" She asked playfully.

"Haha, no, it's just," he said, "it's just, everything you can do...it's amazing."

She swung her feet off the edge of the table again, and continued to smile at him, "Well thanks, Noah."

"Heh, you can just call me Ariston, everyone does." He told her.

"Humm," she let out as she examined his aura, "a part of you likes being called Noah.".

Ariston said nothing, but let a look of surprise creep over his face again as he realized she was -right-. He'd never admitted to anyone that he kinda liked his goofy name.

"But, okay. Ariston the Trainer works too.". She said, almost picking up on his thoughts again.

"So uh, I don't know much about Aura, what exactly do you do?" He asked, figuring he sounded stupid.

"Welll," Riolu said, thinking, "it's hard to explain. It's basically the psychic expression what you're feeling. When you experience something, an emotion or sensation, your aura changes with you. Judging by what I'm feeling from you right now, I'd say I think I'm going to like having you as my master"

"Wo-- I mean, cool." he said, not wanting to revert to saying 'wow' every ten seconds again.

Riolu giggled.

"They only reason I've gotten so good at reading Aura is 'cause I've had nothing to do in that stupid egg for the last two years. You don't need to be able to see a person to sense their Aura."

Riolu's former egg lay in pieces both on the ground and on the table.

"Why didn't you hatch sooner then?" he asked.

"It didn't feel right where I was before...The people that were around my egg, their aura's felt...scary. I didn't want to hatch around those people I felt, I just couldn't bring myself to." she replied, "But things changed, I stopped feeling the bad Auras, that's when I realized there was some one new taking care of me. Turns out it was you."

"Could she be talking about...Dad?" A voice said in the back of Ariston's mind..."Bad Aura?".

"Well, what ever the reason, I'm glad you're here now.". He told Riolu, rubbing her ears. She gave out a cute little laugh as her Master's touch tickled her.

"I was just about to go over a strategy for the Gym fight with the other Pokemon here.".

Riolu flipped on her stomach, lying across the center of the table, propping her head up with her tiny paws. "Ooh, sounds cool. What's a Gym fight?".

"Well, uh, it's like a test, to see if you're a good enough trainer to take on an opponent who is considered better than you." He answered.

"Oh," she said, tilting her head, "sound fun.".

"Haha, it is if you win."

The waitress returned with the small amount of food for the three Pokemon. Riolu eyed it enviously, not having had any real food since she'd hatched.

"M-Master?" She asked, "Can I have some of...what ever that is?". She motioned to the cantaloupe being eaten by Buizel (who seemed reluctant to share). "It looks greaaaat."

"Of course."

Her face lit up giving him a large toothy grin. Granted, she only had a few small fangs, but it was still cute. Ariston placed another order for Riolu, and the waitress was quick to bring it out.

Sitting up, she sat cross legged on the table, and devoured the large slices of cantaloupe.

"This is ammmmaaaazzzinnngggg," she told her mater between joyful bites.

Ariston couldn't help but smile at her. She's been in the outside world less than half an hour, already she'd made friends with all his Pokemon, and bonded to his Aura. The Riolu were an amazing Pokemon.

"We'll sit here and get to know you a little better, Riolu," He told his new team member, "we have some time before the gym battle. You've already seemed to have matured so much."

"Well of course," she said, "I've just been picking up Auras in that egg for a long time now, I understand how most things that humans do work.".

"Silly..." she said playfully as she dove back into her plate of delicious cantaloupe.

Ariston had a precious new member to the team. Regardless of weather she could fight or not, she was obviously going to be a great friend. She had an unquestionably sweet attitude, and it was refreshing to Ariston. He couldn't wait to get to know her better.

Riolu smiled.

"Did she..." he thought..."Can she hear what I'm thinkink?".

Ariston started at Riolu again.

"Nahh.".

--

"Hummm" Blaziken said as she thought, "what should we call you...".

"I, uh," the traveler started, "don't know if that's a good idea.". Nervous at having this playful Pokemon determining his name.

"Oh common, it'll be fun! I cant just call you SUBJECT 14 all the time, that doesn't even make any sense." She joked, "sounds like some sort of science experiment, hehe.".

The traveler felt a little saddened by the truth in her words, but decided it'd be better not to tell her much about what he knew about his origin.

"Alright." he said with a sigh, "What did you have in mind then?".

"Sexy." She immediately said to herself in her mind. Again, she pictured the man's bare muscular body on top of hers. "Urh, I so want to rape him...Ah! No! Bad Blaziken, get your mind out of the gutter!" She continued to think as she scolded herself in her mind, "Oh yeah, name, uh, think...common...something...".

"Uhh," she let audibly escape, "how about Snowy! Get it? 'Cause I found you in the snow, haha!".

Traveler cringed at the terrible attempt at a pun.

"I uh, don't think I like that name." He said in reply.

"Humm, me neither...How about..."

She rubbed her chin with her hand, looking into the distance thinking...

"We should call you Crazy. After all, you did try and strangle me."

"I uh, uhh"

"Nah I don't like that name either." Blaziken continued.

"Oh! I once saw a human named Frabrezio!"

"That's...a ridiculous name..." the traveler replied coldly, not liking where this was going.

"Fine fine. How about John? No...you don't look like a John... What about Martin? Nah, that's not you either...Oh! How about Jenny! Wait, that's a girls name...Humm, this is tough!" Blaziken rambled...

Blaziken had made the conversation entirely one sided, just announcing then immediately renouncing any human names she'd ever heard.

"Jeeze, I can't think of a human name that suits you."

The traveler sat next to her in an annoyed silence.

Blaziken eyed him up and down again.

"Ohh!" She exlaimed, "I know!"

She jumped up off of the ground and stood in front of the traveler in an excited stance.

"I'll name you after my Great Grandpa!" She said happily, "He was the most ferocious Blaziken ever! He was the toughest Blaziken in the word! He could defeat -anyone-! Even the toughest of water Pokemon!" she continued, obviously exaggerating the status of her Great Grandfather.

Excited from remembering stories her mother had told her of him, she started doing punches into the cool air of the cave, imitating her Great Grandfather.

"He'd take anyone on, he was awesome!" Blaziken explained, still hopping around the cave fighting invisible opponants.

The traveler gave her odd behavior a confused stare.

After she had finished taking numerous drawn out swings at air in the cave, she continued her explanation.

"I heard, he once defeated a HUGGEEE Garados, all by himself!" She told, breathing some flames, battling and invisible Garyados.

"Course, I never actually met the guy, but my Mother told me all about him..." She said happily, sitting back down next to the traveler, now finished with her stories.

"You kinda remind me of him, ya'know?" She looked into his emerald green eyes, and imagined her grandfather's face upon his. "Iota the Blaziken, that was his name.".

"Iota..." The traveler said to himself, thinking it over. It was certainly better than Jenny or Frabrezio.

"Alright, I like it." he admitted.

Blaziken's smile grew ear to ear. She wrapped her arms around the travelers cold body and gave him a tight hug.

"Aww I knew you would!" She said to the obviously uncomfortable man she was hugging.

"Iota, just like my Great Grandfather."

The newly named Iota wiggled out of her hug, and picked himself off the ground. He made his way over to where he was sleeping the night before, and picked up his robe. After putting the thin piece of fabric on him, he started for the cave's exit.

Saddened to see this gesture Blaziken's smile vanished. She worried she might have scared him away.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I'm going to see if I can find some food, the snowfall isn't too bad anymore."

"Oh..." Blaziken said in a depressed voice.

"Don't worry," He said without facing her, "I'll be back soon."

Her smile returned.

He set his bandaged foot onto the freezing freshly fallen snow outside the cave. A few snowflakes landing on his face.

"Oh and Blaziken?" He said, sounding somewhat nervous and turning to see her still sitting at the back wall of the cave.

"Mm?"

"Thank-you. For everything."

Blaziken could have sworn she saw a tiny, almost unnoticeable smile on Iota's face. The first sign of emotion she'd seen from him yet.

He turned his back to Blaziken, and began walking into the light snowy weather outside.

Blaziken let out a sigh of happiness as she watched him walk away, the smile on her face refusing to vanish. She knew he'd come back, somehow, she knew she could trust him.


	5. Chapter Five: The Battle in a Gym

Yey!

I'm done!

Here's the lowdown:

This chapter is long. Like, 10,000 words long XX. It's also very important, so pay attention.

Heres just a quib of info about the SUBJECT 14 sections:

Everything medical you read, is real. I'm about that, every procedure, term, and order used when I'm talking about d nitpicky octors is a real procedure. Neat, huh?

I really like getting your reviews too! And the big influx of e-mails, I respond to every single one as soon as I get them.

If you enjoy reading the story with out reviewing -- DONT.

So, you've waited long enough, here's Chapter Five:

Word Count 10112

--

"Rise 'n' shine, sweetheart," a sarcastic male voice said, looking down upon the subject.

Iota crept open his eyes, finding himself on the cold medical table once again. He was back in that room, that pure white room.

"You are one lucky son-of-a-bitch, know that?" the doctor asked him. Although the man speaking to him was wearing safety goggles and a white surgery mask, he recognized the voice of Dr.Maizner.

"Somehow, your ass got passed Stage Six," he continued, "guess what you win?"

Iota remained silent. Dr.Maizner adjusted some settings upon the numerous health monitors around him, and continued to speak to the patient.

"That's right big guy, you win a trip though Stage Seven," he continued.

Iota lay on the table, ignoring the condescending words of the doctor tinkering with the machines around the table. The roomed seemed different than before. There were no tools for surgery this time, at least, none that were visible like previously. Iota breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't be cut open this time.

The room was filled with various machines, most of them were health stations, motoring the usual vital signs. Brian activity, heart beat, respiration, as well as other indicators he didn't recognize were displayed around him.

There was another machine, something quite odd. It was some sort of mechanical device, which lay dormant next to the table he was on. The machines base was quite large, it had large wheels on the very bottom, which enabled the doctors to adjust it accordingly. It also sported a large amount of vents and pipes. Like everything else, the entire machine was whitewashed.

The base continued off from the ground, ending about at the hight of the operating table. Sticking up from the base was a long girder of metal, followed by an identical girder attached to the first one by a pivot joint. This part seamed to serve the purpose of making the head of the machine adjustable.

The head was the most interesting. It was as large as Iota's body, it could easily cover him. It was suspended in the air by the neck of the machine. He wasn't sure what any of the tubes, needles, and lights that populated the underside of the head would do, but it didn't seem too threatening. At least, he didn't see it is as threatening as the bone saws, scalpels, and other assorted cutting utensils that were used on him last time he was here.

Dr.Maizner finished whatever he was working on at one of his health stations and returned to the patients side.

He had a long, heavy black band of material in his hand.

"You, my boy, are going to be entering a high REM state during this stage," he started, "and if your eyes are exposed to the high powered light from this contraption here," he pointed to the machine, "you will go totally blind."

Iota gazed into the doctor's eyes. He made a quick motion at the doctor, jolting his body towards him, but was thrown back down by the heavy, and numerous restraints placed on his body.

There were three large, tight bands around him. One on his legs, on on his midsection, and one on his chest. His ankles were held down by metal cuffs, the same for his arms and neck. Iota wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Iota's action at the doctor startled him slightly. He cleared his throat and regained him composure.

"Lets just make sure you don't get to anywhere, mmkay?" the doctor told him, now tightening the three bands to a now painful tightness.

Following that, Dr.Maizner placed the black band over Iota's eyes. It was essentially a blindfold, but it seemed to have a sort of heavy material inside of it. The weight of the fabric pressed down on his face, as Dr.Maizner secured it to the table.

The material inside felt like...lead? A quick thought came though Iota's mind as to why they would use lead inside a blindfold. The only reason could be for protection from radiation. Maybe this wouldn't be any better than Stage Six after all.

"So listen, you'd better live though this, we've spent way too much money on you already," the doctor ordered.

The now blindfolded Iota still remained silent.

"Hello? Anyone home?" the doctor asked as he lightly slapped Iota's face, "I don't care how stupid you are, you just better not waste our time. Got it?".

"Dr.Maizner," a female voice said, entering the room, "that's quite enough.". Dr.Maizner looked up in surprise as the woman stood aggressively before him.

"Just having a little fun before we begin," he answered back.

The female voice sighed. Shortly after, the doors swung open again, another man entered the room.

"Are we all set?" the voice asked. Iota had heard this before. It was Dr.Michals.

"All good over here sir," the female doctor responded.

"Good," Dr.Michals responded, "how about Dr.Ariston's team in the control booth?"

"I'll check," Dr.Maizner said, walking over to an intercom on one of the blank walls.

"Hey Dr.Maizner, you all set up there?" He asked, holding down the COM button.

"Everything is ready," he answered.

"Awesome, we're gonna go ahead and get rolling down here, keep an eye on his Neuro-Feedback," Dr.Maizner commanded, "I really don't want to start over on a new patient, so lets make sure this one doesn't die...again."

"Roger," the voice answered.

Dr.Maizner let go of the COM button and gave Dr.Michals a thumbs-up.

"Alright, Dr.Maizner, set nerve re-growth at 5, then clear out of the room," Dr.Michals said, returning though the double doors with the female doctor.

"Aye aye," he returned with a sarcastic salute. Dr.Maizner then leaned down to Iota's ear, so only the patient could hear him.

"This part's gonna suck," he told Iota, flipping a switch on the machine.

A loud grinding sound quickly filled the room. The noise of fans expelling heat from the machine's core rang in Iota's ears. He heard the machine being carted over to him, and the neck adjusted to the machine's head was directly over his body.

Iota felt some sort of arid heat on his skin, the feeling of pressure made him feel like he was underwater in a dry, heavy ocean.

The beeping of the heart monitor quickened as Iota's pulse increased. Not being able to see what was happening made the sensation of fear much worse.

Dr.Maizner's finger hovered over the large, metal button in the center of the machine.

"Three," the doctor began, "two..."

Iota's pulse continued to race.

"Show time"

The doctor's finger pushed the large button in. The machine sprang to life.

Instantly, Iota felt the needles of the machine pressing down on his skin. They pushed deep into numerous places on his arms, hands, legs, and chest. He also felt some needed push up from the table he way laying on into his spinel cord. He winced as they entered him, but it was nothing compared to Stage Six, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

The light intensified, the pressure became heavier. Iota's breathing became labored as the feeling became like he was under a pile of bricks.

"Time for me to go, buddy," the doctor said, heading toward the double doors form whence the other doctors had entered. Before he left, he held down the COM button once again and spoke to the doctors upstairs.

"Alright, everything is stable. Start Nerve Re-Growth and Neuro-Configuration," with that, the doctor left the room.

As soon as Dr.Maizner was out of the room, the machine started to fire more ferociously. The heat and pressure intensified.

Iota felt nothing for a split second, then, a deep electric hum rang though the air. A surge of electricity engulfed Iota's body. He involuntarily shook violently as his nerves were stimulated. He lost all control of his body as he continued to twitch and seize, only held in place by his restraints.

His eyes darted around in his head, moving at a rapid pace. He wasn't able to think, process information, or scream. All he could feel was every nerve in his body being destroyed. It felt like nothing words could describe. The feeling was not only pain, but the sensation of something inside of your body, like a million bladed spiders racing though him, under his skin, biting their way out.

"Ten percent," a robotic voice said from somewhere in the room.

His body tensed, the feelings intensified.

"Twenty percent," the bland voice said again.

Iota struggled against the restraints, stretching them, trying to break free. It was no use, this machine had shut down all thought processes, he could do nothing but feel.

Iota let out a gasp as he found himself standing in the middle of a snowy field.

He shook his head rubbing his eyes with a bandaged hand. It was another dream. They were coming while he was awake now.

He quickly observed the area around him. In the distance he saw the caves he was occupying earlier. He had managed to find some wood for a small fire as he was exploring around before. He found the wood on the ground at his feet after coming back to attention.

He examined his bandaged hands. Like the knuckles, the bandaged around the top of his wrists were now torn away. The medical tape was pointed outward, though. Something had came out, under the bandages.

He sighed to himself and gathered the wood by his feet. He wasn't able to find any food in this winter wasteland. He couldn't stay here much longer.

His feet were numb from the cold snow beneath him. He put the feeling, or lack there of, out of his mind, and started walking back to his shelter.

--

"Okay." Ariston began, "This is what I've been thinking.". His Pokemon listened to his words carefully.

"Since we are in a mining town, and I've been told the Gym leader fancies rock types, I'm going to send in Buizel first."

Buizel perked up.

"You'll be super effective against any rock types, and you'll still be pretty agile if the leader sends out a Fighting Type.".

She bobbed her head in understanding.

"After that, judging by what type she sends out, It'll be either Luxio or Turtwig. If it's another fighting or non-rock type, then it'll be you, Luxio, if it's something like an Onyx or Geodude, it'll be you Turtwig."

His Pokemon continued listening to their Masters words, it's been obvious that he'd been thinking this over.

"That's all I can really predict for now, we'll have to see what the Gym Leader does." Ariston continued, "Just keep in mind, they Gym Leader may have us on experience and training, but as long as we play smart we can probably pull away with a win."

He looked over at the confused young Riolu staring at him with her round, deep red eyes. She'd never seen a Pokemon battle before, she had no idea what any of this meant. The looked in her eyes seemed to ask the question, "-Why- are you doing this? What's the point?". He thought about this for a moment. He didn't really have a real answer, it's just the way things are, trainers like it, Pokemon like it, and it's worked out pretty well for the world so far. He decided to clear things up with Riolu.

"You understand Riolu?"

She blinked a few times at him.

"Uhh, I guess so," She returned, scratching her head, "what do I do?".

"Haha, hey, you just learned to stand a little while ago, I'm not sure you're ready for a battle yet." Ariston replied. Riolu may have been mature, but there's no way her body could have developed enough to fight a seasoned opponent.

She looked at him with a tiled head and a look of confusion, her ears tilted back slightly, as if saddened. Her ever-present smile seemed to fad a slight bit.

For a moment, Ariston felt bad they he couldn't use Riolu. The option of sending her into battle would be reckless, and would undoubtedly result in her injury or even death. Despite the facts, he wish he could, and couldn't wait until she got some training in.

"I promise we'll see what you can do after the Gym Fight, I'm almost more excited to see what you can do more than battling in the Gym, you know."

That seemed to do the trick, her smile renewed itself and her ears perked up again.

"Everyone else understand?"

The team gave him a confident nod.

"Alright, good. Lets go.".

He withdrew everyone into their various pokeballs, Riolu whirled her head around quickly as she watched the Pokemon around her instantly disappear as they were taken in by the red light. She spun around looking quite confused as she inspected the locations the Pokemon were previously residing.

Ariston couldn't help but laugh at Riolu's confusion.

"Whaaaaaaa? What just happened Master?" She asked him in amazement.

"Haha, it's called a Pokeball. It's just a way for everyone to travel with me and not have to bet out the whole time." He explained.

She stood up on the tabled and thought this over. Ariston held up an empty one for her.

"I've been in that egg long enough, you know, I think I'm fine traveling outside all the time." She decided.

He put the empty Pokeball away.

"Sure, I think it'll be nice having you around."

She smiled at him once again.

Ariston paid his check for the food he had ordered for his growing number of Pokemon. He was sure to gather up the larger parts of the egg and throw them away in the trash can, they would have been a mess to clean up by the waitress. Riolu, still standing atop the table, seemed happy to see her former prison be discarded.

"We'd better get moving, Riolu." He said as he began walking away from his table.

"Ehhm..." He heard in his mind.

Ariston turned around to see Riolu still standing on the table, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Um. How exactly do I get down...?" She returned innocently.

Ariston laughed to himself, forgetting his Pokemon had been so new to the world. He walked back to the table to help her down. He scooped her up in a quick motion, causing her to giggle a bit in surprise, and set her shaky legs on the ground.

"Alright -now- I'm ready to go." She confirmed.

She wasn't a very large Pokemon at all, really. Standing on the ground she made it up about to Ariston's knees. She still happily walked aside him, her eyes studying all the new things around her. Sure, she could sense most things though Aura, but to really see them, it was a whole new experience.

Ariston and Riolu walked down the city streets on their way to the Gym. The area had numerous little shops owned by either a small business owner, or a family. There were shops for games, Pokemon supplies, clothes, and really anything else you'd need. Riolu's head was a flash as she whirled it around taking in every sight she could see.

They walked together for a good while in the cool winter morning. Riolu occasionally asked about some of the shops she saw, Ariston was happy to explain any questions about the area to her.

Finally, Ariston and the curious Riolu reached the large Oreburgh Gymnasium. The building was much larger than any shop or restaurant surrounding it. It was located on a pretty popular city block, as it was a popular tourist activity to go and watch local Pokemon battles. Usually, there were only trainers inside the Gym battling with each other, a trainer challenging the Gym Leader was relatively rare. He could hear the sounds of Pokemon battling inside. He smiled confidently and pushed open the large doors.

Inside, the facility was much like any gymnasium you'd find. There were wooden bleachers on either side, and a large open space in the middle for trainers to battle. A few trainers were already fighting with each other. There were some general rock type Pokemon who were native to the area sitting with the trainers not currently battling. Overall, it seemed like a relaxed atmosphere. The trainers who did fight wouldn't push their Pokemon excessively, it was just some light sparring.

Ariston walked though the center of the Gym straight to the back. Riolu, who was awestruck by the Pokemon battles, walked right into the back of a Graveler. The large rock turned around and looked down upon the little blue Pokemon. She looked back up, and nervously walked around it back to the side of her master.

There was an older looking man coaching another, younger trainer towards the back of the room. Ariston immediately recognized the Gym Leader. It was obvious that he had more knowledge and experience than anyone else. Also, on his shirt he wore the Coal Badge, the prize for defeating him.

In addition to the Coal Badge on his grey jacket, the Gym Leader also wore white gloves, grey pants, and a black undershirt and shoes. He also had a pair of black framed glasses. He just looked more official than anyone else in the Gym. He had the look and feeling of a leader about him.

The presence of Ariston peeked the Gym Leaders attention. He looked up to see the young trainer staring at him. The Gym Leader knew Ariston wasn't a regular, and immediately figured by the numerous Pokeballs on his belt he was looking for a fight.

"Hey there," the Gym Leader began, "I'm Roark."

"Ariston," he returned, shaking hands with Roark.

"I'm gonna go ahead and assume by all the Pokemon on your belt you're looking for a Gym challenge, eh?" Roark asked.

"That's right,"

"Alright, no problem," Roark voiced, "let me just finish with some lessons here."

"Sure thing," Ariston commented, taking a seat with Riolu on one of the empty bleachers. There were a few citizens and tourists in the stands, watching some trainers battle on the Gym floor. Ariston's heart began to race, he couldn't wait to fight.

"Aren't you scared, master?" Riolu, sitting beside him, asked.

"A little, yeah. In a good way, though," Ariston answered.

"Hmm?"

"I just feel, pumped, that's all, this is my first official league battle,"

"Oh.".

Following instruction from Roark, the trainers on the Gym's floor finished their exercises with their Pokemon and began clearing out of the way. It looked like he was going to stop all activity in the Gym for their fight.

Roark motioned to Ariston, and he promptly stood up, Riolu behind him.

"You ready?" Roark asked, walking up to Ariston.

"Sure am," Ariston answered.

This felt odd to Ariston. The Roark seemed to be handling this like a business meeting, rather than a battle. His voice seemed devoid of emotion, and it just felt like he was bored with the idea of a challenger. Maybe it was because he's the first Gym Leader that most early trainers battle, maybe it was because it was early in the morning, and maybe still it was just because he was a mellow guy, like Shane. Whatever the reason, Ariston didn't care, he was excited. The other trainers cleared the floor and took seats in the bleachers, waiting for the fight.

Ariston noticed the design on the floor, it was a large Pokemon Court. It had a large marked off box in the center for Pokemon to fight, and smaller boxes off either end for the trainers to stand in. Besides the boundaries, there was a mid-line cutting though the center of the floor.

Roark waved Ariston over to the mid-line of the Gym's floor, where an Official waited to go over the rules for the match.

Ariston began walking to the two men in the center of the Gym, Riolu following nervously behind him.

The official waiting with Roark was a slightly overweight fellow, he seemed to have been doing this a long time, he was getting pretty old. The official wore a plain white collared shirt with a black tie, and long black pants. Officials had to look, well, official.

Ariston reached the center of the Gym and stood across from Roark.

"Okay," the official started, "this is an Official Pokemon League Gym Battle, all contestants must defeat Roark in a three Pokemon battle in order to advance.".

The Official seemed to be on auto pilot as he recited the Pokemon Gym Battle Rules devoid of emotion.

"Contestants will battle to the best of their ability against Roark using Pokemon they have captured or legally acquired into their possession."

Roark stood silently, with a bored expression on his face. Ariston was sure he'd heard this a hundred times already, just like the Official must have said this a hundred times before.

"If at any point I yell "Stop", the battle between the two Pokemon is over, and the defeated on must be withdrawn to avoid injury or death. In the case of serious injury, the match will be voided and the Pokemon will be treated in the Gym's Pokemon Center facility. In the event a Pokemon steps or is knocked out of the boundary lines of the arena floor, it is an automatic disqualification. Do both contestants understand?" the official finished, raising his grey-ish eyebrow.

"Yes sir," Ariston answered.

"Mmhmm," Roark said.

"Make your way to the trainers box and send out your first Pokemon on my signal," the Official commanded, walking towards the sidelines of the Pokemon Court, "Good luck gentlemen."

Ariston turned his back to Roark and started walking to his side of the court.

"...What did he mean by "to avoid injury or death"?" a voice asked in his head.

"It's just a precaution, there is hardly ever a case of death in an Official Gym Battle. Gym Leaders are required to be extra cautious," Ariston answered though the thought filter in his mind to his curious Riolu.

"So, everyone's gonna be okay...right?" she asked again.

"Of course, I promise.".

Riolu sighed in relief.

Ariston set foot in the trainers box, and reached for his Pokeballs on his belt. He released Buizel, Turtwig, and Luxio onto the ground. They all appeared ready, willing, and able to fight.

"Alright guys, it's time," Ariston told his Pokemon, "everyone ready?"

They all gave him a confident nod.

Riolu stood at her masters side, terrified. She knew her master had promised that none of her new friends would be seriously hurt or killed during this battle, but she couldn't help the feeling of anxiety as she watched her master prepare his Pokemon with such a serious tone.

Ariston turned to see Roark calmly holding a Pokeball, waiting for the match to begin.

"Contestant ready?" the Official asked.

"Ready!" He answered.

"Gym Leader, ready?" he asked again.

"Sure am," Roark replied.

"Begin!"

"Go, start us off Buizel!" Ariston commanded to his water Pokemon as she energetically leapt out onto the wooden floor of the Pokemon Court. She defensively stood on all fours, she was eager for a battle.

"Alright then. Go, Onix!" Roark yelled, throwing out a Pokeball. A large, rocky, snake-like Pokemon was released onto the Gym floor, letting out a roar in an attempt to intimidate.

The battle had begun. All eyes in the stands were fixed on the two Pokemon in the center.

Ariston felt mixed emotions at this sight, he was happy that Buizel had a distinct type advantage over the large rocky snake, but also he worried for her. Onix was still a titanic and powerful Pokemon.

Not wasting any time, Buizel sprang off the ground and began her attack. She dashed forward, as fast as her little legs could carry her, and began releasing a powerful blast of water at the Onix before her.

The first jet stream struck Onix in the center. The creature recoiled from this letting out a groan. Water types were super effective against any sort of rock Pokemon. Onix dragged his large body out of the way of the first attack, trying to avoid any more water damage.

Buizel ran at sharp angles, ever time she changed directions, she let out another blast of water. Streams of high velocity water sprayed the Onix in various places, the rock Pokemon was becoming drenched.

The Onix moved more cautiously now, using it's long body to slither across the Gym floor and avoid some attacks from Buizel. She was still running circles around him, letting out numerous small shots of water to strike him in different places.

The Onix, able to avoid some of the attacks, was now trying to stop Buizel form unleashing any more water. Onix pushed its rocky body at he high-speed Buizel in an attempt to ensnare her in its hard stone jaw.

Onix made contact with nothing but the ground as Buizel darted out of the way. Onix hit the ground quite hard, and was in disarray for a moment. Buizel, who'd avoided the slow rock snake's attack completely, took advantage of this. With Onix's head so close to the ground, Buizel concentrated for a moment, and expelled the all the remaining water she had produced inside of her.

This large inflow of water only partially struck Onix's head. The rock snake had already begun to pick itself off the ground when the attack began. The damage was done though, Onix rose it's head off of the ground made erratic movements in pain. The Pokemon was now totally soaked.

Roark arched an eyebrow as he watched the Buizel punish his Onix. He wasn't worried, Onix was tough, and far from being defeated.

Onix shook its head, causing some water to fly off of him, dampening some bystanders in the crowd. Anyone who hadn't gotten wet laughed at those who did.

The Onix made another attack on Buizel, it dove forward with its rocky head down to where Buizel was running. By the time he'd reached the ground, she'd moved out of the way. Buizel was breathing heavily now, all the running and water she'd be expelling took it's toll on her endurance. She was quick, though and could avoid any of the rock Pokemon's large, obvious attacks.

Confident in her position, she took the time that the Onix needed to pick its head off the ground for a tiny rest. She needed to catch her breath and generate some more water inside her body.

Buizel's bodies naturally produced and stored water. It came from the food she ate, liquids she drank, and even the small amount of water taken in from the air when she respires. Water could also be taken in through the skin, like when she would swim, but in this case, she could absorb the tiny amount left on the ground from her previous attacks. Still, she needed time to produce it. Time she didn't have. The Onix's valor to fight through her powerful water attacks surprised her. It hadn't even phased him much yet.

Onix didn't pick it's head off the ground this time. Using its long body to propel itself, the Onix darted, inches from the ground, straight at Buizel. Surprised by this, she ended her respite and managed to narrowly avoid the large stone head flying her way.

Onix had missed again, but didn't waste any time letting Buizel recover. Onix quickly propelled itself off the ground again and shot at Buizel. She was more prepared this time, and knew she could avoid it relatively easy.

Ariston's heart raced as he watched this battle. Buizel knew what she was doing, Ariston didn't intend to coach his Pokemon here, yelling some useless encouragement would probably distract her anyway. He decided he'd better let her take care of it. He'd never seen his Buizel fight like this.

Riolu and the other Pokemon watched in silence. Buizel sure looked impressive to them.

The rock Pokemon's head curled at a sharp angle at her. She leapt off the ground and shot another blast of water at the Pokemon's head, this time, striking him between the eyes.

The water didn't deter the Onix's path, he continued darting forward. Buizel landed on the ground behind the creature. Onix's long body was racing past her, her eyes were only focused on his head, that seemed to be the major indicator of what direction he was traveling.

Cautiously watching Onix's head, she waited for him to turn to face her. The Onix was traveling in a makeshift circle, Buizel on the outside of it. She stood on her hind legs ready to spring out of the way of any attacks. Before the Onix even turned around to face her again, Buizel was hit. Hard.

The tiny water Pokemon had been totally unaware of the incoming hit, and didn't brace for it in the slightest. She was knocked forward a good distance, flipping forwards once before landing on the ground, flat on her back, eyes shut in pain.

Ariston winced as he didn't even see the attack comming. The Onix had circled away from Buizel, creating a distraction and enough momentum for it's tail to sling forward like a large, stony whip. The very last rock of Onix's tail had struck his Buizel square in the spine.

The rocks of Onix's body were smaller at his tail, but they still were quite sizable. The rock that had hit her had been about the size of a small Geodude.

Ariston's mouth dropped as he watched his Pokemon land on the hard wooden ground of the Gym's floor. The few understudies of Roark in the crowd cheered their Master's Pokemon on.

"Buizel! You okay?!" Ariston yelled out to his Pokemon, crumpled in a lazy heap on the floor. He realized that was a stupid thing to ask. The Onix circled around her, surrounding Buizel with its long body, taking this opportunity to ready an attack, incase she intended to battle further.

Buizel was unresponsive.

The official took a moment to examine the scene from the sideline. Ariston looked over to him, waving his hand in front of his neck, indicating he wanted Buizel withdrawn.

Riolu had her hands over he mouth as she watched her friend's motionless body on the ground.

"Don't worry," he told her, "Buizel is tough, she'll be okay.".

The Official blew his whistle, it's loud chirping sound rang though the Gym.

"The contestant's Buizel is unable to battle!" he announced, "Round One goes to Onix!"

The Onix returned to standing at the far side of the Gym, in front of a smiling, confident Roark.

Ariston sighed as he withdrew Buizel into her Pokeball.

"You did great girl," he whispered as the red light engulfed her.

"Will the Onix continue battling?" the official asked Roark.

Roark looked up at his Pokemon. It was covered in water, and breathing heavily. The look in it's eyes, though, told Roark that it wasn't ready to come out yet.

"Mm, yeah, Onix will stay in," Roark answered.

"Contestant, send out your next Pokemon," The Official yelled, facing to Ariston.

He looked behind him to see the two eager Pokemon behind him, plus Riolu, who looked as willing as the others, but was far from ready to battle. It was a pretty obvious choice between Turtwig and Luxio. If he did send out Luxio, he'd get annihilated by the Onix. His electric attacks would be utterly harmless against it. Turtwig it was, then.

"Alright, Turtwig, looks like you're up," Ariston said to his excited Pokemon, "don't make the same mistake Buizel did, keep an eye out for its tail," Turtwig nodded in understanding.

"Go get 'em!" Ariston yelled as Turtwig ran onto the battle field. He stood in front of Ariston, similar in the fashion that Onix did to Rorak.

"Contestant ready?" the official asked again.

"Yeah,"

"Gym Leader, ready?"

"Mmhmm,"

"Begin!"

Round two began with Turtwig firing off a single seed from his mouth. The tiny dark sphere impacted harmlessly the gap between Onix's head rock and the one below it.

Ariston gave Turtwig a confused stare.

The Onix ignored the useless attack and darted at Turtwig. Onix traveled in a straight line across the entire Gym's floor directly at Ariston's Pokemon. Turtwig leapt backwards, Onix's head impacting and cracking the wooden floor where he previously stood.

Turwig immediately jumped atop Onix's head and ran down its rocky body. Turtwig paused at the third or fourth rock of Onix's torso, and quickly shook itself, releasing a multitude of tiny orange spores into the crevasses of the rocks.

Before Turtwig could do anything else, Onix arched its body, easily knocking Turtwig off and sending him to the ground.

Ariston watched fearfully as his Pokemon hit the ground.

Turtwig was back on his feet quickly, and backed away from Onix as it re-coiled itself, preparing to surround Turtwig.

Turtwig stared the rock Pokemon in the eyes confidently.

Ariston noticed a look of shock coming over Roark's face, yet, had no idea why. It seemed Onix had the upper hand in the current situation.

"Onix, what the hell's that?" Roark yelled to his Pokemon.

Onix turned to look at its master.

Ariston finally noticed it, there was a tiny sprout of green plant-life growing between Onix's head rock and the rock below it. His memory flashed back to the beginning of the round when Turtwig had fired a seed in the same location. He smiled at his Pokemon's thinking.

"Damnit, Onix, finish it quickly!" Roark yelled, realizing what Turtwig had done, and knowing his Pokemon didn't have much time to battle left. There was nothing he could do now.

Roark may have known, but Ariston was still confused as to what actually happened.

Onix attempted to make another dive at Turtwig, but failed as it fell to the ground before it could do anything. The plant continued to grow around Onix's neck, now taking the form of a leafy vine.

"Stay with him, Onix," Roark commanded his struggling Pokemon.

Onix groaned, it's head landing on its side on the ground of the Gym. The audience muttering words of surprise.

Turtwig quickly ran atop the Onix again and released his the same tiny yellow spores he had earlier. The vine around Onix grew quicker at this stimuli.

Ariston let out a laugh in realization. Turtwig had planted a Leech Seed at the very beginning of the round, Onix ignored it, thinking it a failed attack. The seed would have died within Onix, if not for the large amounts of water that Buizel had sprayed on it. The water in and on Onix's body from Buizel enriched the seed and enabled it to sprout. When Turtwig released the spores on top of his body the first time, it fertilized the seed and allowed it to spread quickly.

Onix shook its head trying to regain balance. It groaned as the vines spread though its body. The vines were now traveling down the rocks, covering about a third of the entire Pokemon.

Onix flailed once violently, surprising Turtwig a bit, and raised its head again. Onix made a half-hearted attack at Turtwig, but missed terribly. Onix had no dexterity in this condition. Onix fell to the ground once again, eyes shut in defeat.

The rock Pokemon lay silently, Turtwig standing beside it cautiously.

The Official blew his whistle for a second time.

"Onix is unable to battle, Round Two's winner is Turtwig!" the official announced.

The crowd applauded for Turtwig, he gave them quite a good show.

"Not bad kid," Roark admitted, "didn't think you'd make it past Onix."

"Will Turtwig continue to battle?" the Official asked Ariston.

Ariston took a look at Turtwig, for the most part, he was totally fine, there was no reason to withdraw him.

"Yeah, he will," Ariston answered.

"Gym Leader, send out your next Pokem--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Roark said, cutting off the now obviously annoyed Official.

With out another word, Roark threw a Pokeball in front of him, releasing a Geodude onto the floor.

"Good, a rock type," Ariston thought, knowing Turtwig would have a type advantage over this Pokemon too.

"Round Three, begin!" the Official announced

Turtwig dashed forward to the center of the Gym Floor, Geodude doing the same. Both Pokemon running at each other, Geodude hovered down to almost ground level, reading to slam into the other Pokemon.

Turtwig had a hard head, but not that hard.

The Geodude closed its eyes and slammed into Turtwig's head. Turtwig rolled backwards almost immediately on impact. Geodude had dominated the hit. Apparently, that didn't go the way he had thought. Geodude still hovered inches off the ground, unaffected.

"Bad idea, Turtwig, be careful," Ariston coached to his Pokemon, who was standing back up from his hit.

Turtwig gave a look to his master that seemed to say, "Ya think!?".

Geodude wasn't willing to let Turtwig recover. It quickly followed up its initial contact with Turtwig with a strong right hook. Turtwig was able to duck in time, Geodudes hard fist brushing over the plant on Turtwig's head, but then followed up with an uppercut from his left hand.

Turtwig wasn't able to avoid this one, he was struck under his chin and knocked on his back once again. Turtwig rolled over, and regained balance on his feet.

Geodude reached its fist back, ready to strike again.

Turtwig unleashed two long vines coming from either side of his body, and slung them like a whip at Geodude.

Geodude angled his body as the vines approached, one passed right by him, narrowly missing his face, but the second vine wrapped around his right arm.

Geodude grabbed the vine that was wrapped around his arm with his stony fist. For a moment, the two Pokemon struggled, each pulling the other towards them. Turtwig shifted his weight backwards and retracted his vine as powerfully as his body was able. Geodude only wavered slightly as the rock Pokemon's high strength pulled back.

"Common, Turtwig," Ariston said nervously under his breath.

Ariston knew that it didn't really matter what Roark's third Pokemon was if Turtwig lost here. However strong Luxio was, it didn't matter. Geodude would receive no damage from any sort of electric attacks.

Geodude and Turtwig struggled still, neither wanting to give in. Turtwig raised his second vine off the ground and slung it around Geodude's body. Geodude tried to shake the vines off of his face, but to no use, Turtwig was wrapping them as tightly as he could.

Roark's Geodude re-adjusted his grip with both his hands to pull on the first and second vine. Geodude gave up trying to hover, and fell to the ground, still pulling with all his might.

Turtwig decided to give in. It wasn't for lack of strength, it was because he knew continuing like this would eventually exhaust him. He couldn't outlast a Geodude in a match of strength.

Turtwig ran forward now, reeling in his vines as he did, straight at Geodude.

Geodude continued pulling as Turtwig grew closer, he raised his fist ready to strike. Turtwig reached the rock Pokemon, his vines retracted completely, save for the parts still wrapped around Geodude, and was instantly struck by Geodude's free hand.

The impact struck Turtwig, but he stayed in his place due to his attachment to Geodude though his vines. Turtwig leapt on top of Geodude, wrestling with him to the ground.

The audience seemed captivated by this showy display of Pokemon valor. Not to mention Riolu, who was witnessing her very first Pokemon battle, she could barely stay conscious from all the excitement.

Ariston watched eagerly, as did Rorak.

Now rolling on and off of each other on the hard wooden floorboards, Geodude continued to tarnish Turtwig with his free hand, hitting him multiple times in the body and face. Turtwig only remained in place because of how tightly he continued his hold on Geodude.

Turtwig wrestled himself back on top of Geodude.

Using this momentary position of power, he produced a number of more vines. He proceeded to wrap these around Geodude's body, covering most of the Pokemon in a dark green tangle of plant life.

Geodude struggled his arm free, and took another swing at Turtwig, hitting him in the side of the face once again. There was a good amount of blood coming from Turtwigs wounds, and some running from his mouth.

Turtwig refused to be deterred by this, he quickly enveloped Geodude's free hand in vines again, and squeezed as much as he could.

Geodude finally started to waver, and groan in pain. Both Pokemon remained still for a moment on the floor, Turtwig continuing to wrap and squeeze Geodude with vines.

As Turtwig increased his grip on Geodude, Roark's eyes widened as the popping sound of cracking rock filled the Gym.

Roark gasped in shock that Turtwig was able to do that much damage to his well trained Geodude.

"Yeah!" Ariston yelled, holding his fist in the air. He sure was glad he managed to capture Turtwig the day prior, this Gym fight would have been impossible without him.

Turtwig finished the job by rotating his body, dragging Geodude across the ground, and releasing his vines all at once. Geodude was tossed to the side of the ring, rolling unconsciously.

"Aw, damnit," Rorak complained, placing a gloved hand on his face. He removed his glasses for a moment and wiped the perspiration off of his brow.

"Geodude is unable to battle," the Official yelled, "round threes' winner is Turtwig!".

The crowed cheered for Turtwig again. Ariston felt incredibly proud of his Pokemon at that moment, he'd been able to take on -two- of the Gym Leaders rock types by himself. He couldn't believe how great it felt to be winning, and everyone applauding around him. Even if there weren't many in the stands, the feeling was still amazing.

Riolu's ears quirked as she looked at her master. She didn't look at him with her eyes, but rather looked at him though his Aura. She closed her eyes and felt an odd feeling radiating off of him. It felt like a deep ocean of confidence was flowing out of him, he must of felt great. Her master's Aura was a complex mix of pride and happiness, intensifying every second. It was a dark blue color, and just sensing it made Riolu happy. She decided that she wanted to be the one to make her master proud next time.

Roark reluctantly withdrew his Geodude.

"Alright kid, good job," he congratulated to Ariston, he was getting more of a thrill out of this than he expected.

"Will Turtwig continue to battle?" the Official asked Ariston again.

Ariston looked over at his Turtwig, struggling to stand. His face had many cuts and bruises with a good amount of blood running off them. Turtwig may have been tough, but there was no reason for him to keep fighting. It would have been too hard on him.

"No, I'll withdraw him," Ariston answered to the Official. With that, he retrieved Turtwig's Pokeball off his belt and recovered the smiling Pokemon back inside of it.

"This marks the fourth and final round of Pokemon Battle," the Official announced, "both contestant and Gym Leader, release your final Pokemon on my mark."

There was a moment of total silence in the Gym.

"Begin!"

"Show me what you can do. Get out there, Luxio!" Ariston yelled, pointing forward as his much larger Luxio leapt into the battle area.

He knew if the next Pokemon Roark sent out was a Rock/Ground type, Luxio wouldn't last very long. He held his breath waiting for Roark to reveal his Pokemon.

Roark silently threw another Pokeball into the arena.

A tough looking Cranidos emerged out of it.

Ariston breathed a sigh of relief. Cranidos -was- a rock type Pokemon, but not ground. Electric attacks would be normally effective. That solves the type problem, but it was still up to Luxio to take it out.

A Cranidos had the appearance of a dinosaur, really. It was mostly grey, with blue skin surrounding it's hind legs and the dome atop its skull. There were also white spikes that poked out of the backside of its head.

The Cranidos and Luxio stared at each other powerfully for a moment.

The crowd was alive with energy as they were excited to see the climatic finish to the battle take place. Seemed this Gym battle would be a close one.

Cranidos swept its feet on the ground as it prepared to fight. Luxio bared his teeth. Both Pokemon knew that losing here would cause their master to loose the entire battle, and neither would willingly let that happen.

"Hit him hard, Luxio!" Ariston yelled, breaking the silence and beginning the fight.

Luxio ran forward towards the Cranidos. He moved much faster now, he had longer and much more muscular legs, allowing him to take larger and quicker strides.

Cranidos lowered its head and charged at Luxio.

"Careful, don't hit him head on," Ariston warned to his Pokemon. His heart felt like it was beating right out of his chest. This excitement was unlike anything else he'd ever felt.

Luxio wouldn't make a foolish mistake like run directly into a Cranidos, he knew that would probably knock him out cold on impact.

As they two Pokemon were about to collide, Luxio leapt off the ground, over Cranidos. As his body passed above the dinosaur, in that split second, Luxio built up a powerful charge and released it directly below him, striking Cranidos's body.

Ariston watched this. Before, when he was a Shinx, he could only discharge when he made contact with a Pokemon. It was amazing that Luxio could do it without even touching his opponent.

Cranidos let out a shrill cry of pain, but didn't stagger his stance. He instantly turned around, and lowered his head again, making another run at Luxio.

Luxio growled at Cranidos, electricity crackling though his fur, and awaited Cranidos to get closer.

Luxio prepared to discharge the moment that Cranidos was in range of him. As soon as Luxio began releasing electricity, the foe's Cranidos suddenly changed speeds sharply, violently slamming into Luxio's midsection. Luxio tumbled to the ground.

Roark smiled at his Pokemon, while Ariston watched in dismay. It seemed that Cranidos had only taken one step, but covered so much distance in it. It was a flash before it made its impact on Luxio, Ariston didn't even have time to blink.

Luxio recovered from the hit and sprang to his feet. Cranidos swept its feet on the ground again, reading to charge.

"Now you know what's coming, Luxio, be careful!" Ariston yelled to Luxio again, hopefully he'd learned to be more cautious around Cranidos.

Roark smirked.

Luxio continued growling at the dinosaur Pokemon. They stared into each others eyes for a moment.

Again, Cranidos dashed. Its speed during its dash was much quicker than in its run, and gave little time for Luxio to react. This time, Luxio was on edge. Waiting for the attack he let off a small amount of electricity off of his body. This charged the air he occupied with an electric static.

Luxio took a small jump backwards, leaving a trail of cracking yellow energy from where we was standing. He judged Cranidos's dash from what he was before, and prayed he had guess correctly.

His guess measured up perfectly as the hard blue dome on Craindos's head stopped inches short of Luxio's own skull.

Now, Cranidos was standing in the area in which Luxio had charged the air, the yellow static still crackling in the space.

"Shit, move Cranidos!" Rorak yelled.

Too late.

Ariston and Roark watched at a solid flow of electricity discharged from Luxio's body, through the trail leading from him in the air, and to the space Cranidos occupied. Luxio made this electric discharge negative, and when it reacted with the positive charge in the air around Cranidos, a huge amount of energy was released.

A sound equivalent to that of a small thunderstorm filled the room as Cranidos's body was totally engulfed by electricity. The Pokemon let out a cry in pain and arched it's head back. Luxio continued pumping electricity into him.

Cranidos didn't give up. The blue dome on his head grew brighter, concentrating energy. Cranidos then brought his skull swinging down like a hammer smack onto Luxio's forehead. It was a powerful Zen Headbut.

Luxio's legs buckled and he was sent forcibly to the ground. His chin struck roughly on the floor, and his body was quick to follow. He yelped involuntarily in reaction to the pain, and was unable to concentrate the flow of electricity to Cranidos's body any longer.

Ariston and Rorak watched eagerly as the Pokemon fearlessly battled each other. Ariston could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

The crowd was overwhelmed with excitement, every occupant was either standing or on the edge of their seat.

Luxio struggled return to his feet, while Cranidos struggled to remain on his feet.

A steady flow of blood ran down Luxio's face, soaking into the dark blue fur, while Cranidos's whole body was letting off smoke from the high energy discharge.

Luxio managed to regain some balance, and Cranidos's legs shook, trying to support his weight. Cranidos took a step forward in an attempt to attack Luxio again. It swung its head weakly again, down on to Luxio's, who was in no condition to dodge. The attack was weak, but it was still enough to steadily harm Luxio.

Cranidos pushed down, Luxio pushed forward. Their heads still together, they pushed against one another. Luxio helplessly began to slide backwards, his feet's nails making lines on the floor as he struggled to push back.

Cranidos pushed as hard as his body would allow him, Luxio slid backwards faster and faster. It seemed Cranidos was aiming to push Luxio out of the ring, thus disqualifying him.

Riolu once again looked into Ariston's Aura. A light yellow sense of worry and anxiety now occupied the space the confidence and pride that was there after Turtwig had won. He seemed really nervous about this fight, his Aura told Riolu that losing would undoubtedly make Ariston feel like less of a trainer. She concentrated, and looked deeper. Within the sense of worry, there was still the feeling of accomplishment. He was already proud of Luxio.

Luxio pushed back, but didn't have the strength or the diamond-hard skull to match Cranidos. He was slid to the sideline of the arena which was marked off by a think white line. Luxio surged his strength and pushed back, his vision started to go spotty from all the strain.

Luxio's weight shifted, his front paws lifted off the ground as he tilted backwards. He pushed once again, as hard as his body would allow him, and managed to regain his balance on the ground. His hind legs teetered across the white line.

"At this rate..." Ariston thought, "...he's not going to last much longer."

No, Luxio thought as he was on the borderline of defeat, No way in hell!

Luxio's eyes widened. He let out a ferociously loud roar as the adrenaline in his body picked up. His heart rate drastically increased and his muscles strained against the ground. He growled like a mad beast and bared his fangs. A dark yellow flow of electricity mixed with the color of blood in Luxio's mouth, surrounding his teeth.

Luxio gave way, and let Cranidos push with out any opposition. While doing this, Luxio ducked his head, sliding off of Cranidos's dome and down to his face.

Luxio shot forward, clamping his razor sharp fangs onto Cranidos's neck. Cranidos howled in agony as blood began to instantly flow from his wounds. Now with Cranidos staggered, Luxio pushed once again, toppling Cranidos to the the ground, and flat on his back.

He kept tightening his grip on the Pokemon's neck, Cranidos pulled at Luxio's fur with his small, clawed hands trying to get the large fangs of the Pokemon off of him. Luxio closed his eyes.

Using his last bit of fleeting energy and consciousness, Luxio sent a powerful charge of electricity though his fangs. The voltage shook Cranidos from the inside out, there was nothing he could do. The force of the surge cracked and stripped the ground of its wooden floorboards, leaving a hole where Cranidos lay.

Cranidos's body went limp, and his eyes shut.

Luxio released his fangs off of his foe, a steady flow of blood was dripping down Cranidos's neck.

Everyone was silent for a moment, no one dared make a sound.

"Winner! Luxio!" the Official shouted at the top of his lungs, "The Challenger has defeated Rorak!"

Luxio smiled, then collapsed.

A powerful excited scream of victory came from Ariston as he raised his fist into the air. The tiny crowd went insane with cheers. Riolu jumped up and down in excitement, she couldn't contain herself.

The sounds of cheers were the last thing Luxio heard before falling unconscious on the ground from his injuries.

Roark stood speechless. It was relatively unusual for such a new trainer to defeat him on their very first try. It hadn't happened in awhile, anyway, that's for sure. He smiled to himself and withdrew Cranidos.

Ariston still yelling in excitement scooped up Riolu off the ground.

"Woo-ah!" she cried as she was picked up by her master. Ariston hoisted her up onto his shoulders in continued to cheer for his Pokemon.

The crowed, still not too large, had grown since the match started. The now hundred strong crowd members were on their feet applauding.

Riolu laughed joyously as she rode atop her masters back. She almost fell off she was cheering so energetically.

Rorak even, started applauding the trainer, the smile still on his face.

After long moments of applause, crowds cheers started to die down. Ariston made his way onto the battlefield, making sure to avoid over any puddles, vines, or cracks left behind by the Pokemon who had fought previously. Ariston knelt beside Luxio, Riolu hopped off of his shoulders and stood on the opposite side of the victorious Pokemon.

Ariston gently stroked his fur, smiling down on Luxio. Riolu sensed the dark blue flow of pride in her masters Aura, it was overwhelming.

Rorak walked out to where Luxio lay. The crowd now fell silent again. Ariston withdrew Luxio into his Pokeball before standing up before him.

"That was a hell of a battle, kid," Rorak commended, "you deserve this."

Rorak removed the badge worn on his jacket.

"In accordance with the rule and regulations of the Sinnoh Pokemon League, I hereby award you the Coal Badge."

Ariston beamed a large smile as he graciously accepted his first Pokemon Badge.

The crowed cheered for him once again.

"Thanks, Rorak," Ariston answered, examining the badge.

Riolu laughed in joy at her masters happiness. He looked down upon her face and returned to her a smile of his own.

"Good luck, kid," Rorak finished, turning his back to Ariston and walking away. He headed for the back-room of the Gym. Ariston figured to be the Pokemon Center facility for Gym members and emergencies.

"Looks like you're the only one left standing, Riolu," Ariston joked with his Pokemon.

"Guess so!" she returned happily.

The crowd had mostly dissipated at this point. the Gym members had began making their way down to the floor, talking about the battle amongst one another. The tourists had left to do other things.

Some of the Gym members even came up to Ariston, congratulating or complementing him on the battle.

He graciously accepted their complements, but after everyone had returned to training amongst themselves, he made sure he quickly left for the Pokemon Center. Their condition wouldn't get any worse inside a Pokeball, but he still wanted to get his team back to health.

He quickened his excited pace as he made his way down the same city streets he had been walking down earlier.

"Master, that was...Incredible!" Riolu cheered, "Think -I'll- really be able to fight like that someday?"

"Haha, I sure do. There's no doubt in my mind that you'll make an amazing Pokemon," Ariston answered.

Her mind rushed with a million fantasies of her battling Pokemon. She saw herself as a beautiful Lucario, swiftly moving across the battlefield defeating opponent after opponent, triumphing over any that challenged her. After defeating the entire team of the opponents Pokemon, she would look over and see the overwhelming dark blue Aura of pride flowing out of her master, this time for her.

She giggled to herself.

"I can't wait!"

Ariston chuckled at Riolu's enthusiasm.

After a few more minutes of walking, they reached the front doors of the Pokemon Center.

As soon as Ariston walked in, a young male doctor in blue scrubs was quick to greet him.

"Ariston?" he asked.

"Uh, y-yeah, that's me," Ariston answered, a bit confused.

"Oh good. Rorak called, we have a hospital room all set up for your Pokemon."

"Oh, cool. Thanks, doc," Ariston replied, impressed that Rorak took the time to set up a room for just for his Pokemon.

"Right this way,"

Ariston followed the doctor past the front desk, into the hospital area for more serious injuries. The windows to the other rooms were tinted, he wasn't able to see inside. Riolu, however, felt the Pokemon in the rooms, some just weakened, some dying. She got a set of chills feeling such Auras so close to death.

"Here we are," the doctor said, leading Ariston and Riolu to a set of double doors at the end of the hallway, "if you'll just hand me your Pokemon, we'll take care of them."

"Sure," Ariston replied. He retrieved the three Pokeballs off his belt and handed them to the doctor.

"You can wait in Room 404," the doctor informed, pointing down the hallway to an empty room, "it's the third door on your right. No one can ever seem to find it...Oh, and we'll bring your Pokemon in when we're done so they can rest."

Ariston gave the doctor a nod. The doctor left though the double doors to what he assumed to be the area where they restore and heal Pokemon. He headed down the hallway to Room 404.

Inside, the room was pretty large. It had three beds, one for each of his Pokemon, and a large couch for him and Riolu to sit at. There was also a large Plasma TV hanging in the corner of the room.

Ariston and Riolu made their way to the couch. Ariston collapsed into the comfy cushions, now coming down from his excitement high. Riolu had a little more trouble getting onto the high couch, as she was still quite small. After numerous attempts, she managed to hoist herself onto the couch with a hop, and too a seat next to Ariston.

"So, um," Riolu began, "when do you think I'll start training?"

"Well," Ariston answered to the obviously excited Riolu, "if you're up for it, I think right away. Sound good?"

Riolu's eyes lit up at the sound of training.

"I sure am! It sounds great!" she excitedly replied

Ariston laughed at Riolu's words, he'd never seen any of his previous Pokemon -this- excited at training.

"Let's just relax for now, okay?" Ariston asked,

"Mm," Riolu nodded in affirmation.

"Today couldn't get any better," he thought, "it's perfect."

Grabbing the remote off the side table, Ariston flipped on the TV. As soon as his finger pressed upon the button, he felt the buzzing of his cell phone in his pocket.

He retrieved it, and looked upon it's screen.

"Shane's Cell" It displayed.

"Hey man," he answered, eager to tell his friend about his victory, "you're not going to believe wha--" He was cut off by a panicking voice.

"A-Ariston?!" Shane's voice yelled from the phone.

Ariston immediately noticed the panic in Shane's voice, Shane was almost always calm, something big must be happening.

"Yeah man, I'm here, what's going on?" He asked in a serious, somewhat panicky tone.

Shane's voice was a crackle of static, Ariston struggled to make out what his friend was saying.

"You--the city, Tea-- Galactic -- here. Te--Tell Rorak -- nee--get back here--killing--they--Conti--you--ba--y--help," was all Ariston heard.

The phone line went dead.

"M-Master, look!" Riolu's terrified voice rang in his head.

Ariston's eyes fixed upon the TV.

It displayed a scene in downtown Jubilife City, the caption "BREAKING NEWS" below it.

Fires burned out of house windows, citizens ran in the streets. Large Pokemon were running though the city, followed by uniformed trainers. Some of the cities Pokemon Trainers fought a losing battle back, the ones that were strong enough to put up a fight where immediately shot dead from one of the Galactic members wielding various handguns and rifles. There were several obvious dead bodies of both Pokemon and Humans in the street. The uniformed men darted in and out of high-class buildings and facilities.

They were hunting for something.

Ariston's heart almost stopped. It was Team Galactic. They were making their attack now.

"M-master! Wha-What's happening?!" Riolu's voice cried, she was in tears already.

She didn't need to see this.

Ariston put his hand in front of Riolu's eyes, and clicked off the TV. She grabbed his shirt and began crying against him. She had seen Pokemon, just like her, dead and dying, littering the streets. It was too much for her innocent young mind to process.

Ariston placed a comforting hand atop her head, and quietly shushed her, hugging her tiny body.

"Riolu, listen to me," he said, guiding her face up to meet his, "I have to go the--"

"No!" She cried out, burying her face further into his shirt.

"My friends are there, I know it's dangerous, but I have to get Rorak and help,"

"Bu-But what if--"

"I won't, I promise," he said, not wanting her to have to ask that question.

Ariston turned to the small table beside the couch. He grabbed the standard hospital notepad atop it and began writing a message. When finished, he folded it up and gave it to Riolu.

"When the doctor comes in, make sure you give this to him, okay?" he asked his Pokemon, who was still in tears.

"Mm-Mmhmm," she said between sobs.

"I'll be back soon, Riolu," Ariston said to his Pokemon as he stood up and made for the exit of the room.

"Noah," A voice said to him in his head, "be careful,"

"I will," he replied mentally,

Riolu gazed into his Aura as he left. It was a mix of sadness, fear, and anger, the ugliest of emotion. This Aura, was black. As her master felt, so did she. A lonely Riolu sat atop the couch, holding a tiny note, awaiting her masters return.


	6. Chapter Six: The Battle in a City

Hi everyone!

It's been awhile hasn't it?

Yikes, it really has been a long while...

Anyway, I should probably get to explaining.

This little adventure all started because I had SEVERE writers block about halfway though this chapter, and sometimes found myself just staring at a half finished sentence not knowing what the HELL to write.

So, I waited for ideas to come to me, like I usually do...but nothing came. So I made a HUGE mistake, and that was trying to force myself though writers block. It looked GOOD at the time because I had such shitty writers block standards, I was thrilled I could even finish a word!

So, my little squib of not knowing what or how to write passed, and I re-read the chapter I wrote though writers block...All 20,000 words of it... And really, everything I wrote was (in my opinion) shit. I was really upset at my style, my word usage, my descriptions, and most of all, my character usage.

So, I highlighted everything, and hit "Delete!".

I was a little bit upset that all my work was garbage, but when I got to re-re-re-writing everything (Yeah, I deleted passages I re-wrote multiple times), I finally got in the groove and wrote in a way I liked again.

...But then I broke my middle finger playing sports...

So! I'm not able to type for a good while! And that sucks, because I was just sitting and waiting for it to get moveable so I could write again...

And finally, the moment I could type more than 2 Words Per Minute, I finished the chapter.

I'm not going to reveal anything about the chapter here, you should get to reading!

Anyway enjoy, here is the result of this titanic fucking wait:

Word Count 21,684

(Oh hell yeah, outdid the first version of Chapter Six!)

--

Ariston ran down the hallway of the hospital. Nurses and doctors were getting calls of friends and families in Jubilife City. The air was filled with panic as news spread like fire through out the hospital. Some cried, others made frantic phone calls to loved ones to make sure they were safe. Everyone's mind was filled with thoughts of the worst, it was an indescribable scene of chaos.

Ariston turned though the halls from which he'd calmly walked down just moments prior, before news of the City's attack had reached him. In the hospital rooms he passed, he managed to glance at some TVs, every station broadcasting the same thing...the city, being attacked. He forced himself to look away, if he saw in detail the events that were happening, he might lose his nerve to go.

Back in the lobby of the hospital, the several trainers and patients waiting were stuffed around the front desk, hungry for information about the events unfolding. He quickened his pace to a now desperate run. Ariston darted out of the lobby, pushing the folding doors to the mining city outside.

He stopped for a moment.

The sun was setting. A warm flow of orange light cascaded on Oreburgh City, giving off a false sense of tranquility to the atmosphere. Ariston looked around. He needed to find Rorak and tell him about the events happening. Such a powerful trainer would be needed against Team Galactic.

He could only hope Rorak was still in his Gym after their fight, the Oreburgh Gym Leader would be the best hope Jubilife City had. Granted, Ariston didn't know Rorak personally that well, but as he learned in the Academy, the Gym Leaders were essentially the protectors of the towns and cities they lived in, it was their duty to keep people safe. Since Jubilife City didn't have a Gym Leader, Rorak would have to look over both.

Ariston set foot on the street, and began planning a route to Rorak's Gym, he could probably get there pretty fast, but he'd be wasting time he didn't have.

it was at this point Ariston saw a car, speeding towards him from the direction of Rorak's Gym. From where Ariston was, he could see the faint outline of a man driving, with any luck, it would be Rorak, and he would already know about what was happening in the City.

Ariston squinted -- As his eyes set upon the figure in the car, he sighed in relief. It was Rorak.

He stepped out into the street, perhaps not the best idea with a speeding car coming towards you, but hopefully Rorak would recognize him and stop. Ariston needed to get to the city somehow, and it looked like Rorak would be his best bet.

As the car made a sharp turn onto the street Ariston stood in, Rorak turned his head to the boy standing aside his car, running towards him.

He immediately recognized Ariston as the challenger he had just fought, and judging by the look on his face, he already knew what was happening in the city.

Rorak rolled down his passenger side window, and stopped his car momentarily, if only to see what the kid needed.

"Rorak," Ariston panted out, slightly out of breath from sprinting through the hospital, "The City, it--

"I know, I'm going," Rorak returned, not wanting to waste time, "stay here with your Pokemon until I get back,"

Rorak began to lift his foot off the brakes, but before he could, Ariston was quick to make another plea.

"Hold on!" he yelled, "You have to take me too!"

Rorak was a Gym Leader, it was his job to keep people safe, bringing this kid to a terrorist attack zone would be the most endangering thing he could do.

"Not a chance, kid, it's way too dangerous," Rorak returned, "stay he--"

"I don't care how dangerous!" Ariston frantically yelled, moving closer to Rorak's window, "I have friends in the city, and one way or another I'm getting there -- with or without you."

That didn't sit well with Rorak, while he didn't have time to stay and convince Ariston to remain in the hospital with his Pokemon, he knew that if Ariston _did _go, as he planned to, he'd be much safer under the protection of a Gym Leader.

Rorak sighed, considering what to do.

Ariston didn't have time to wait, he turned away from Rorak's car and began to move forward.

Before he could take a single step, Rorak called to him, "Hold on!"

Ariston shifted his weight back and held his position aside Rorak's car.

"Fine," Rorak said with a sigh, "get in."

"Thanks," Ariston said in a serious tone.

Rorak rolled up his window and revved his engine, a clear sign to Ariston to not waste any more time. Ariston ran to the passenger side door, and immediately whipped it open. He climbed inside and felt his already nervous body fall onto the cold leather of the soft interior seats. The sensation of cold leather against his perspiring skin sent goose-bumps though his body. The moment Ariston shut his door, Rorak shifted gears, and accelerated down the road.

"Listen to me," Rorak said, as they made their way down the street, "you're in no way going to fight, I'm taking you to find your friends, got it?"

Ariston nodded.

The impact of nervousness about the situation of the city finally hit Ariston as he began to think of the horrors he had seen on the television screen. Ariston's breaths were short and frightful, it felt like someone's icy hands were choking him. His face had traces of perspiration on it, his spine seemed to be electric with anxiety.

Rorak remained stone-faced. His eyes narrowly focused on the road, as he disregarded any speed-limits or stoplights and sped towards the city.

"What are you going to do?" Ariston started as Rorak continued to accelerate and change lanes to pass slower vehicles, "I mean...didn't all your Pokemon get pretty beaten up during the fight?"

Rorak gave a dry exhale of a chuckle.

"Kid, I've been doing this a long time," he replied, "the Pokemon you fought were at the league standard level of fighting. Regulation prevents me from making them any stronger, and if they get too tough fighting trainers, I'm required to replace them."

Rorak pointed to the numerous Pokeballs occupying the back seat.

"My personal Pokemon," he continued, "They're a different story, and they're a hell of a lot stronger."

"But what if --"

"If something happens to me, I have some for you to use too."

Ariston closed his mouth. Rorak seemed as calm as he did when they started their Gym fight. He showed no traces of panic or fear whatsoever. It was a mystery how anyone could be calm right now to Ariston, people were _dying _just a short drive away. People in the City were being murdered, and right now they were helpless to prevent any of it. Rorak seemed amazingly unfazed.

"I got a call from the Chief of Police in Jubilife City." Rorak said, breaking the moment of silence, "He explained the situation, and that every experienced and powerful trainer would need to help fight."

Fight...this sounded like war to Ariston. There would be no Officials to stop the match this time -- the Pokemon would fight with the unrestrained the intention to kill. He swallowed his nervousness and breathed a sigh.

"Some of the advanced trainers at my Gym are already on their way...those who were willing to fight anyway," Rorak continued, "As soon as we get there, I want you to find your friends, then get out whatever way you can, understand?"

"O-Okay," Ariston said, calming his voice as much as he could. Still, he spoke with a slight quiver in his tone, "I understand."

"Good," Rorak answered. "I released all my personal Pokemon and informed them about the terrorists, and who they'll be fighting."

Rorak's voice lowered.

"They're ready to kill."

A frigid shiver ran though Ariston's body.

_Kill?_

The word frightened Ariston. He was far from a soldier -- how could he know if he had what it took to kill anyone? The city was a war zone, riddled with Pokemon killing and being killed, terrorists, guns, and fires lighting up the streets...It was hell.

For the first time in his life, the possibility of dying was before him. Ariston hands were shaking.

"Let the Pokemon out, they'll do their job. Just organize them and help them out where you can, don't let them get distracted or caught off guard," Rorak commanded, "Play it smart, and you'll be fine."

Ariston wasn't that naive, he knew Rorak was just trying to calm him. The city was insanely dangerous, going in now was stupid, and would probably get the both of them killed. Still, they sped towards the city.

Both remained silent for a few moments, each thinking about the coming battles, and the danger of the Team Galactic members.

Team Galactic...The name wasn't inordinately frightening...the name sounded almost misleading to their true murderous nature. Ariston took a moment to recall what he had learned about them, both in The Pokemon Academy and what he had seen on The News. Most people were aware of the fact that The Police and Sinnoh Government didn't have much information about them, really. It was known that they are a terrorist group who kill, steal, and usually, use any means necessary to finish the job assigned by either an employer, or another outside factor, whatever they may be. They've been responsible for other attacks on cities, too, this was far from their first job. Four years back they were responsible for a bombing of Veilstone City Bank, twelve died, and a combined 100 Million dollars were stolen in both electronic funds, and cash. They were fast, they were deadly, and they were heartless.

Prior to the events in Veilstone City, Team Galactic had killed countless others in numerous robberies and attacks. Sometimes, nothing was even taken, the attacks would just be a bombing of a research facility, or a Pokemon Center...They would even go as far as to attack Schools. It seemed that they just wanted people to die, or simply had no conscience or value for life. Occasionally, when they wanted to attack a highly secure building, they used their most drastic tactic...They would deploy a _suicide bomber _who would wear an explosive vest stuffed with shrapnel, glass, metal, and other sharp objects used to harm and kill bystanders. In Ariston's opinion...these people were bat-shit insane.

However, Ariston knew that the bombing of the Veilstone City Bank was the most recent attack they've made...for whatever reason, they had decided to be dormant for four years, and it seemed they've decided to make another attack, or robbery, whatever this was on Jubilife City.

Ariston looked over to Rorak, who still remained in a calm composure, despite the fact he was nearing ninety miles an hour on the freeway to Jubilife City.

"H-How can you be so calm right now?" Ariston asked

Rorak raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not Ariston, I'm not in the slightest bit calm," Rorak answered, ironically in a cool, collected tone.

"Then how come you're acting so casual right now?" Ariston asked again, slightly upset by Rorak's unconcerned behavior.

"Because right now, it's out of my control."

Rorak looked over to Ariston and sighed, judging by the distorted look on his face, Ariston obviously didn't quite understand.

"There's nothing I can do right now that'll help those people in Jubilife City, and that includes worrying. The best way to get through this is to keep a level head, kid. Anger, fear, anxiety...they're all wasted emotion right now." He continued.

"I guess that makes sense..." Ariston answered, but his words were hollow...he didn't seem to handle the situation the same way Rorak did.

Sure, there was logic in what Rorak told him, but it seemed almost inhuman to be so nonchalant. Ariston didn't care that worrying and anger were "wasted emotion", he still felt them, and couldn't understand how anyone couldn't right now.

"Psychic types are gonna be important," Rorak started, "they'll be able to shield you if any Team Galactic jackass decides to take a shot at you with a gun instead of a Pokemon."

Ariston tried to calm himself again...Each mention of death, killing, or guns made his body go numb. They were getting closer to the city, it was visible now from the freeway the sped down. Some smoke from the fires formed an eerie cloud of dark smog above Jubilife, and it was all they could see at this point. Before, when Ariston was in the city, the streets were alive, people were almost walking shoulder to shoulder in most major streets, neon lights from advertisement signs constantly cascaded down though the city, and made even the darkest hours of night as bright as day. At some times, the noise of citizens and subway cars was almost deafening, but now...the life was gone. All the people had vanished almost in a flash, windows were closed, signs were out, and the silence roared... Besides some small explosions from Pokemon attacks, and fires emitting light, The City was dead.

"So, uh," Ariston began, "you sure seem to know a lot about stuff like this. Have you fought Team Galactic before?" Ariston didn't ask the question out of curiosity, but rather to keep his mind off of something but fear.

Rorak remained silent for a moment. Ariston just sat nervously in the car's leather seat staring at the city before them. The lanes going into Jubilife City were nearly empty - The lanes leaving were crammed full of cars, end to end. Everyone who was able was trying frantically to leave before things got worse.

The streetlights gave a dim hum, then flickered on. The sky was growing darker.

"A few years back," he finally answered, "Galactic members were trying to rob a research facility in Hearthrome City. I was vacationing there at the time."

Ariston brought his eyes from the city back to Rorak as he began his story.

"Whatever they wanted, they were willing to kill for it..."

The words left Rorak's mouth with a sense of sorrow.

"I had some personal Pokemon with me, so I was able to help out. They attack in huge groups, even for small jobs, so any resistance is unprepared. The leaders of Team Galactic don't value their member's lives...Why should we?"

Rorak sharply swerved the car into the exit lane into Jubilife City.

"Thank god I was able to kill three of those fuckers before they escaped," he shot bitterly

Ariston didn't know what to say. Rorak had killed these people before, _killed _people, and he was grateful for it.

Could he do it? Could Ariston kill someone if he had to? He asked himself in silence.

Yes.

The answer was yes. If those bastards were killing people just for their own pointless reasons, then they deserved to die. As far as Ariston was concerned, he was doing the world a favor.

"Do you understand, Ariston?" Rorak asked, "Galactic members are less than people. They are soulless, Ariston. Don't show any mercy to them, because they sure as hell wont to you."

Ariston made up his mind.

"I understand. I'll do whatever I have to."

Rorak entered the city. The sped down the empty streets towards the center, where the attack was happening.

It was time. Live or let die.

--

Blaziken groaned in boredom as she tossed a small rock outside the cave and watched it sink into the snow. Man, she was bored. Iota had been gone forever, and she hated walking outside in this weather. All she could do was wait.

_'I hope he's coming back...' _she let her mind wonder, '_...he -better- come back...or I'll be pissed.'_

"What to do, what to do..." she said out loud

She breathed a small flame as she let out a large sigh. She was basically curled in a ball, he knees were at her chest, and her chin rested on her knees, an expression of boredom still on her face.

Blaziken scrunched her face as her boredom grew, after all, a cold dark cave wasn't very exciting...

She stood up and paced around the cave a bit. A few things crossed her mind, the severity of the storm, the wild Snover and Abombasnow, and finally, Iota.

He pacing around the rocky cave slowed to a halt as thoughts of the strange traveler filled her head. With another breathy sigh, she sat against the wall of the cave where she previously sat once again.

There was no use denying it. Even though he'd tried to strangle her, ignored her, and left her in this cave, she still liked him...Blaziken shook her head in realization...Being _around_ him that is...Right, right, being around him.

It was nice having someone to travel with, really. Sure she'd met other wild Pokemon before, but they're either looking for food or a mate...not very interesting for conversation. Hell, she'd been alone most of her life. She had faint memories of her parents, her mother mostly, but never really spent any time with them.

With the way things are in nature, almost all young Pokemon lose one or both parents to trainers or predators. Her childhood home consisted of a shabby shelter underneath a large tree's roots. The soil was dug out from under the tree, allowing them to sleep beneath it at night and during times of danger, it wasn't much, but it was safe. It was a big tree, in a bigger forest, and it was her home.

Blaziken, who was only a Torchic at the time, and her parents would usually only go beneath the tree at night or when they needed to avoid danger. She preferred the outdoors though, when she could, she loved being outside in the fresh air of the large forest they lived in with her family. She remembered playing with her father the most, running around, wrestling with each other, the usual father and daughter stuff. Sometimes he'd pretend to be a Blastoise, and she'd scamper around the forest running from him. Her mother, on the other hand, wasn't around as much. She did most of the hunting, and usually came back later in the day with food for her and her father. At night, before she'd go to sleep beneath the heavy roots, if she were lucky, her mother would tell her stories of their ancestors.

She'd hear about the fierce stories of the Blaziken ancestors in their family. Some were battles, some stories of desperation, there were countless, and each one enthralled her to every word. Some even involved her father, she enjoyed those the most. They always had a happy ending, too. She liked that. It was a happy family she had.

Then came the day. She was playing with her father out in front of their shelter-tree for most of the day. When the sun set, her mother usually returned with food, and they would settle down to eat. Not this time though.

Her mother never returned. The young Torchic waited with her large Blaziken father, for the return of her mother.

They waited until it became dark, and more dangerous wild Pokemon started to come out. Now worried, the father led his daughter into their shelter to avoid any unnecessary danger. The young Torchic didn't quite understand what was happening, the absence of her mother just seemed strange, rather than tragic. She would frequently ask for her mother throughout the day, and she knew now that it must have broke her father's heart. Her father, fearing the worst, told his daughter to stay inside their shelter while he went and searched for his mate. Torchic, of course, obeyed.

Her father ran off as nightfall crept over the forest. He promised he'd be back with her mother in the morning.

That was the last time she ever saw him.

As morning came, and she awoke peacefully beneath the familiar tree alone. She perked up and wandered outside, expecting to see her mother and father waiting for her, like they were every morning. This time, though, no one was there.

At that moment, Blaziken stopped the recollection of her childhood. She didn't care for bad memories, and didn't want to depress herself any further by dwelling on them.

As much time that had passed between that moment and now, she still feels a sense of abandonment from her parents. Of course she didn't blame them for leaving her...but honestly, in the back of her mind she was somewhat angry at her parents for vanishing like they did, though she would never admit it to herself.

They could be alive somewhere, sure; it was a huge possibility that they were captured by some random trainer wandering through the forest. That was what Blaziken liked to think, that her parents were still together somewhere fighting in the Pokemon League with some professional trainer, taking on and defeating all kinds of unusual, powerful Pokemon.

Of course, that was what she -liked- to think. She knew the odds of her parents being alive were pretty slim, actually. Trainers rarely came into the forest, and even if they did, they were usually lost and in no shape to be capturing Pokemon, not to mention -two- fierce Blaziken. They were most likely killed by something stronger than them. It was nature, the strongest would survive, and it seemed something stronger than both her mother and her father had killed them.

Blaziken used to cry for her parents, back when the shock of being on her own really hit her. At that time, her young mind couldn't understand why they hadn't come back...Perhaps it was something she did? She wondered why they would leave her so suddenly, and what she could have done to make them angry...She couldn't understand.

With time, she came to realize why they really didn't come back...It was just the way things were in the wild. Now a smarter, tougher, evolved Blaziken, she'd accepted he parents fate to whatever or whomever had taken them, and moved on. Besides, it was more enjoyable for her to think about the happy times she remembers with her mother and father, rather than only focusing on their disappearances. Thinking about the stories she remembered was much more fun to her than depressing herself with bad memories.

Letting out a groan, she stood up once again and began pacing. Sitting on the cold ground was making her butt numb.

Walking around the cave once more, her train of thought drifted from her parents to another topic.

Iota, he was a different story.

_'He -was- pretty rude,' _she thought to herself, _'not to mention a little on the crazy side...what with the strangling me and all.'_

"Uurrrghhh, I wish he would get back here already," she said out loud, "I'm bored out of my SKULL!"

Hell, she had known this guy for less than a day, and was already eager for his return.

_"Pffs," _she started to think, _"I dunno why I'm so nice to him, he's not very talkative...Then again, maybe I'm just overly talkative...which means..."_

She placed her hands on her head and said audibly, "Urrrgghh! He probably thinks I'm annoying and weird an--"

Before she could speak another word, a figure passed in front of the cave. She saw it with the corner of her eye, and quickly turned to see who it was.

A wild Pokemon? Another person seeking shelter perhaps?

The familiar strong rugged face of Iota walked in from the storm, carrying nothing but some dry pieces of wood.

"H-Hey!" she said in shock as Iota knelt down and began to lay the wood upon the cave's floor,

"How, uh, how long have you been standing there?" she asked tentatively

Iota didn't seem to even notice her standing beside him. He continued arranging the wood upon the floor into a small pile from which they could be all burned easily.

"Just as talkative as usual..." she muttered to herself

He finished, and stood up.

"There's nothing out there for miles," he began to tell her, "I got some wood from a dead tree, but that's about all there was."

Blaziken calmed her nervousness. For some reason, every time this guy talked, she got chills.

"Yeah, well, we -are- in the middle of nowhere," she answered, "what do ya' think we should do?"

"I can't stay here any longer, I'm wasting time," Iota told her, "whatever was slowing me down before, and I've already recovered."

That was a lie. For the most part, he still felt as drained as he did when he collapsed on the snowy road, his body still ached heavily. Still, he knew Blaziken would use it as an excuse to make him stay, and he needed to find some way out of this winter wasteland. He didn't need any objections as to why he should stay; he itched to get out of the frigid cave.

"Wow, that was fast..." she began, "Alright, I'm sick of this place anyway. Where should we go?"

Iota began to grow annoyed. It seemed Blaziken couldn't understand that he was saying, 'I' while she was saying, 'we'. He intended to leave alone.

He didn't need someone to travel with him, and honestly, he didn't -want- someone to travel with him. His brain told him that Blaziken would be nothing but an obstruction, and that he should go alone. That was obviously the best option, and the easiest option. He didn't need to be bothered by someone else.

"I don't know where you're going, but I'm going south," he said,

"Huh?"

"By myself."

She shifted her weight from one leg to the other as his words sunk in. An expression of both confusion and sadness on her face.

"But..." Was all she managed to say

Iota didn't want to delay any more than he had...He hated being in the same place for too long. Staying in this cold, tiny cave reminded him of a prison. He didn't even notice how depressed the Blaziken standing next to him looked. She idly started at the floor, not a clue as what to say.

She'd dragged him out of the snow, and defiantly saved him from freezing to death...Now he's just leaving with out saying anything. The whole thing felt so cold to her. Did she do something wrong?

Iota took of the thin robe he wore, and dropped it on the ground at his feet. It was so covered in snow at this point, it was chilling his body more. It'd be easier to travel without it.

With that, Iota turned around and began to walk out to the entrance of the cave. Before he took more than a step, an angry voice yelled at him.

"Are you kidding?! I saved you and now you just LEAVE like that?!" Blaziken yelled, she was suddenly enraged by his nerve, her sadness transmuted into anger almost instantaneously, how dare Iota just walk out on her? She almost felt -betrayed- by this.

Iota turned his head around to see the Pokemon yelling at him, his facial expression not changing. There was a moment of silence. The snowfall outside of the cave slowed to an almost halt.

"Not even saying anything now huh?! FINE, GO! See if -I- care," she continued.

Iota hadn't had much experience interacting with others, and so interpreted her words as just an invitation to leave, rather than sarcasm. Upon hearing that, he turned his head around to face the snow, and walked outside, saying nothing.

"FINE! You jerk!" Blaziken yelled, now even angrier that he still wouldn't respond, "Next time you fall face down in the snow DON'T expect me to pick you up again!"

Her words filled the tiny cave and sounded breathy, filled with spite. She was in a huff as she watched him venture into the snow. Her arms crossed, she let out an 'Hmmph'.

Iota didn't qute realize how much he'd hurt Blaziken, and so didn't feel remorse for leaving. She'd helped him, but now she couldn't any more, it was simple in his mind. It was better for him to go alone.

Blaziken was quick to walk out of the cave shortly after Iota did, just in the opposite direction. She didn't want to stay there either, it was time to move on.

Still angry, she started walking to the North, wanting to get as far away from Iota as she could.

_'...Can't believe I -liked- him' _ she thought as she walked, _'Pssh, I don't need him either. Hmmph, I'll just go on my own.'_

She told herself that she was angry at him, and never wanted to see him again, but deep down, it was more sadness than anger that made up her emotions. It was a complicated feeling, and she hated it.

Iota continued walking South, heading for the path he was traveling on pre-collapse. He wouldn't let that happen this time, he was weak before, now that he'd had a chance to rest, he could travel faster.

Still, his body ached, but he ignored it. He hadn't the slightest clue as to where to begin looking for the doctors, but he knew he had to, somehow. Maybe they could give him some answers...before he killed them.

Blaziken walking North and Iota walking south, the two previous 'friends' were now heading in opposite directions. One feeling angry and saddened, the other feeling nothing.

After walking for a few minutes, Iota recognized the pathway where he'd previously been traveling. Now that he had his bearings, he continued down the road, walking to where ever it lead him.

--

The jet black BMW raced though the city streets, Rorak firmly gripping the wheel, aside him, Ariston felt an odd sensation in his stomach, it felt similar to the feeling of free-falling, and it made him want to puke. The low hum of the engine climbed in pitch as the car continued to accelerate, Ariston began to notice familiar buildings around him, they were finally in the city.

It was a dead-zone, the black smog from fires rose high in the sky, creating an eerie twilight upon the city. The residents of the city packed the sidewalks, all running in the opposite direction Rorak and Ariston were driving, whatever bravery Ariston thought he had before now felt like stupidity.

The noise of panic infested the air around them, people were screaming loved ones names, frantically trying to locate a lost friend, relative, or child, but to no use. The car muffled the screams into a incomprehensible mesh of chaos, but Ariston could still hear the panic, he suspected Rorak could too.

There must have been hundreds of them, everyone who valued their lives and had not the intention to fight did whatever they could to flee at this point. People ran at full sprints, some knocked others over trying to escape, it was brutal, it was amazing to Ariston how far humans digress when they fear for their lives.

The cars on the street seemed mostly abandoned, from what Ariston had seen before on the bridge, there'd be no way for anyone to leave the city in a car, which meant that he and Rorak probably wouldn't be leaving the city any time soon.

Some families with smaller children or older grandparents moved as fast as they could in the crowd, but with the others practically running though them, they got practically nowhere, and with the growing panic, many of them were knocked over and quickly trampled by the uncaring mob.

The elderly and young that Ariston saw knocked to the ground seldom resurfaced.

Rorak slammed on the breaks, Ariston's body flew forward, the inertia lifting him off the seat, and was quickly jerked back down by his locking seat-belt.

Ariston winced in shock, and looked up to see the cause of this. Seemed the mob had taken to the streets, and were uncaring about any cars that occupied the street.

"Damnit," Rorak said under his breath, now stopped in the street as his car was quickly swallowed by the ocean of people running in the opposite direction, "It's like trying to swim upstream,"

Rorak sighed, if they got out now and tried to go further on foot, it'd be even harder for them to get anywhere, and Rorak was certainly not going to be able to drive anywhere.

Rorak slammed his hand down on the horn, and began to inch forward. The sound of his car's horn was practically silent to the chaos outside, and wasn't even noticed by the people in front of him.

"What should we do?" Ariston asked,

Rorak didn't answer, he twisted his body to face the back seat, and turned back around with a Pokeball.

"This,"

Rorak cracked the Pokeball open and released one of his personal Pokemon into the back seat of the car. The familiar white light shot from the Pokeball as the silhouette began to fade into sight. A large, mature Alakazam faded into existence on the back seat.

"Alakazam," Rorak began, pointing out the front windshield, "we need to get though,"

The Alakazam gave a nod, followed by a tough sounding grunt of concentration.

The familiar purple glow of a Psychic Pokemon concentrating began to envelop around Alakazam, who then fell silent.

Ariston waited nervously for something drastic to happen, he knew what a formidable Psychic Pokemon Alakazams were, especially one concentrating like this. Before long, the fruit of Alakazams Psychic endurance began to reveal itself. Ariston looked outside the front windshield, the car was still deep inside a sea of frantic pedestrians, but now, the same eerie psychic purple glow began to appear on the outside of their windshield.

The tiny ball of purple light started out small, no bigger than a tennis ball at most. Almost as soon as the small dot appeared, it began to grow, and stretch further and further along the car. Alakazam, still deep in concentration, remained motionless still. The psychic current along the cars front grew larger still, now covering most of the windshield, and the beginning parts of the side windows.

The transparent psychic light stretched out and out, growing exponentially faster, flowing over the car like skin. The energy stopped when it enveloped then entire front half of the BMW, everything Ariston could see though the windshield seemed to have a purple hue to it.

Ariston opened his mouth to ask what exactly Rorak was doing, but then quickly shut it and decided to remain silent, he thought it'd be better to just trust Rorak knew what he was doing, after all, he didn't want to sound like a confused hindrance.

"That'll do just fine, Alakazam, nice work," Rorak complimented his Pokemon, who was still concentrating, "as usual."

Rorak then pressed down confidentially on the accelerator of his car, causing the wheels to instantly whirl back to life and push forward. Ariston felt a strange fear for a moment, the thought that Rorak had just decided to run these people over crossed his mind, but he knew a Gym Leader wouldn't be that crazy.

As the car crept forward, no faster than fifteen miles and hour , what Rorak and Alakazam had planned was now obvious to Ariston. As the people made contact with the semi-transparent wave on the car, the were harmlessly slid off to safety, it was almost a human snow plow. The pedestrians were guides along the groves of the car until they were pushed out of the way, they moved like drops of water sliding down on wax paper, effortlessly gliding along the cars surface.

The people seemed to get the idea after awhile, and some began to move out of the way, other were slid out of the way by the barrier Alakazam had put up. They inched though the crowd, at a crippling slow pace, although the shield would protect the citizens from harm, Rorak still didn't want to plow though the mob and send people flying off of his car.

Rorak and Ariston continued down the street, sliding though the few people who decided they didn't want to move out of the way of the car, and eventually were able to move with more leeway the further they went. The further they continued on, the more and more the crowd thinned, although they were on the main road that left the city, most people interested in evacuation had left already. Those who felt like they didn't want to risk it would probably stay inside their homes or their apartment buildings then simply hope for the best.

Rorak and Ariston drove further still, the frantic ocean of people was nearly empty now, anyone able to leave had fled.

"That'll do, Alakazam, conserve your strength," Rorak told his Pokemon, who immediately complied to his master's command. Alakazam exhaled and relaxed his tensed body, the psychic shield immediately began to fade away, the purple hue around the car dimmed until it faded into the nothingness from whence it came.

"Can you do one more thing for me, Alakazam?" Rorak asked, Alakazam would be the most important Pokemon tonight, due to his psychic nature, he could provide the best defense for everyone, not to mention that Rorak's Alakazam was probably tougher than most others in the city.

'Ka-zam," the Psychic Pokemon said affirmably, nodding his head,

"I need you to tell me where Team Galactic is, we're close to the center of the city now, they should be close," Rorak continued,

Alakazam closed his eyes once again, slipping into his meditative trance of concentration.

"Can he really find them?" Ariston asked in a quiet voice, the last thing he wanted would be to disturb Alakazam's concentration. Ariston was quite impressed by Alakazam already, he had never seen a psychic Pokemon like this before, or any for that matter, and never really knew the range of their powers, and how they could be used outside of battle.

"If they aren't too far from here, yes," Rorak answered in the same whispering tone, "Alakazam can mentally scan areas, as long as he has been though them physically before, and knows them well enough. Right now, he's separated his mind from has body, and traveling though the streets as if he were on them. When he finds something he'll let us know."

"That's incredible," Ariston said, dumbfounded, "Psychic Pokemon are --"

"Amazing," Rorak said, finishing Ariston's sentence.

Rorak and Ariston silently waited for the Pokemon in the back seat to finish.

Minutes passed by, Alakazam still remained motionless.

--

Alakazam's mental projection of himself drifted through the city streets, not walking, per se, but more like floating downstream by a strong current. Alakazam could see everything as if he were physically there, he was experienced enough to the point where he could see mostly everything clearly, before, when he was a Kadabra, things appeared as nothing but outlines and fuzz.

Everything Alakazam saw had the familiar purple glow to it, but that was to be expected from a mental projection, it was a heavy use of his psychic powers.

As Alakazam drifted on, he saw dark patches down alleyways and roads, they were noting but darkness to him right now, he hadn't been down those areas before, and so couldn't venture there in his mind yet.

As he traveled down what streets he could, he noticed humans, quite a few humans, actually, on the ground.

Alakazam stopped for a moment to inspect one of the men lying on the curb of the street.

The man was a common white male with dark hair, wearing what once was a clean white dress shirt, which was now drenched in blood. Alakazam saw many large pieces of shrapnel and metal stuck in the mans body, blood still running from the entry and exit wounds. The man's eyes were still open, and his mouth gaped wide -- he must have been gasping for air, the metal probably punctured his lungs.

Alakazam panned his vision to the surrounding areas, and noticed the buildings -- or lack of buildings rather. What had once been there, was now blown down, and severely damaged, rubble and concrete littered the streets, not to mention the few unfortunate folk laying dead under some of the large pieces of stone.

It was obvious some sort of explosion had taken place here, the sheer force of it had sent debris and shrapnel flying though the air at blinding speeds. Seemed that this unfortunate man before him had met his fate from one of the explosions, along with the countless others laying dead and dying along the sidewalks and streets.

Alakazam was a mature, seasoned Pokemon, he had seen death before, both when he was in the wild, and when he had fought with Rorak. He had mentally prepared himself for the worst when Rorak told him that Team Galactic had attacked again, he'd fought against them with Rorak before, and knew how far they would go -- But this, was far worse then Alakazam had thought. As if the bombings didn't bring enough death, Alakazam could still feel lives ending around him ... and close.

Alakazam took a moment to gather himself, he had to remain in control of his emotions. Though he had seen death before, the scene before him, the -massacre- before made him disgusted. His vision began to grow blurry, he was becoming too independent from his body, the more emotions Alakazam felt, the weaker his powers would be, the projection of his mind was based off of control, and for psychic Pokemon, being emotional was the exact opposite of control.

He needed regain focus on his mission, he needed to find where these men were. If he lost control, he would either automatically return to his body, and all this time would be wasted, or worse -- He may become so detached that he wouldn't be able to return at all. If his mind became so independent, or he ventured too far away from his physical body, he'd become so detached that he would be unable to return, ever.

Alakazam concentrated for a moment, and took in the scene before him. He tried to digest all the death both before and behind, as to remain in control. He took a deep breath, and continued on.

His vision began to clear up again, as long as Alakazam kept his focus on the path before him, and not the death on the streets below him, he figured that he should be able to keep in control.

Alakazam kept moving down the roads he was able to travel, he continued to move in the direction where he felt death, that's where Team Galactic would mostly likely be, after all.

Alakazam's vision grew fuzzy again, only momentarily, then returned to normal -- it was his physical body's mind telling him he was going quite far.

"Rorak, it's been ten minutes, we're wasting time waiting like this!" he heard echoing around him, it was the boy that he had seen in the car before, a young trainer if he wasn't mistaken. The boy seemed quite impatient for him to return, Alakazam didn't like that... he needed to take his time, projecting his mind this far was anything but easy.

"Quiet!" Rorak's voice hissed back in Alakazam's head, "We can't afford to break Alakazam's concentration, Team Galactic is probably using psychic Pokemon to mask their location as well as they can from other trainers, and if we don't know where they are, then we'll be just as useless."

The voice of Rorak and the boy finished echoing in his head, the two were lucky that he was so experienced at projecting his mind, even the smallest outside factor could break his concentration at this far away.

Alakazam knew Rorak was right, they -were- using psychic Pokemon to mask their location, but, alas, Team Galactic had forgotten one thing.

The Aura of Death reeked from them, even the weakest psychic type Pokemon could pick up on it now. When one ends a life, it changes the persons Psychic Aura, as well as their Spiritual Aura. While Alakazam couldn't read Spiritual Aura, as Lucario and Riolu could, he could still feel the stench of a deathly Psychic Aura radiating ... somewhere close.

As a human murders, and a life is ended at their hands, their Psychic Aura becomes black, and bitter, it makes any Pokemon, even the non psychic types, near them become more violent, and aggressive towards them. The black stain on their Psychic Aura remains there forever, even after they themselves die, any Pokemon under the control of someone with a darkened Psychic Aura would be undoubtedly driven mad.

His trainer, Rorak had fought against Team Galactic before, and caused death himself, yet didn't have a black aura about him. Alakazam could read something similar to the mark of a killer off of Rorak's Psychic Aura, but it was something much different. Though Alakazam didn't know what other Psychic Pokemon had named it, he'd come to call it The Mark of a Warrior. It showed that the person had ended lives before, but through the ways of defending others, and righteous intent, not though selfishness or malice. Rorak had been defending others in harms way from men with blackened hearts, and so had ended undeserving lives to protect innocent ones. The Mark of the Warrior didn't invoke violence from other Pokemon like the Mark of a Killer as far as Alakazam knew, in fact, in battles with Rorak before when he had been pushed to his limits, picking up on The Mark of the Warrior from his master's Psychic Aura felt ... refreshing, and actually pushed him to fight harder.

Alakazam didn't know much about the uniqueness of his master's aura, but he was sure on one thing -- every person he'd ever seen in Team Galactic had a blackened aura.

Alakazam, still occupied in the thoughts of both the Aura's of Team Galactic, and that of his master's, turned a final corner.

Alazakam's physical body winced, as did his mind.

His vision became haze, he had gone too far, but the feeling before him couldn't have been clearer.

He felt them, both police and the black aura's before him. Though his vision was nearly gone, he could hear gunfire, the attacks of Pokemon, and the shouts of men giving orders to their Pokemon in battle.

He'd found them, not with his eyes, but with his mind.

Alakazam closed his eyes, and inhaled.

--

When he opened them, and exhaled, he was back in the car, two concerned trainers staring at him.

The expression on Rorak's face asked the question before his words could.

Alakazam nodded.

"Good," Rorak returned, happy with the result of Alakazam's concentration, he'd obviously found something.

Rorrrak, A hypnotic, ghostly voice said in Rorak's mind, the tone was sketchy and low, with a distinctive roll every time an 'r' was pronounced, I see, a grrreat amount of police officerrs, along with a larrrge numberrr of men I do not rrrrecognize, one mile down this rrroad.

The voice almost sounded Transilvanian in its accent. Though Rorak would trust Alakazam with his life, on every rare occasion that Alakazam would speak to Rorak, he would get a cold, nervous chill in his spine -- his very bones felt cold from the sound of Alakazam's voice.

"Thank you Alakazam, we couldn't have found them with out you," Rorak said, praising his Pokemon,

Alakazam gave a humble nod, Of courrrrrse, Masterrrr

"Lets go then, you know where they are, right?" Ariston said, she sheer condition of the city made the worry for his friends grow larger, ever second that passed by made him feel like he was useless.

"Yes, I do, we'd better get there as quickly as we can. Alakazam, are the roads clear up ahead?"

Alakazam closed his eyes, and shook his head, his mind replaying the scene of rubble and chaos that he had drifted though mentally, there was no way they'd get though in a car.

"Alright then, I'll let you rest for awhile, my friend," Rorak said, withdrawing Alakazam into his Pokeball, and opening his door, "Ariston, lets go."

Ariston and Rorak made their exit from the car, and stepped out onto the city streets, even from where they were, they could smell the stench of burning bodies.

Rorak started down the street perpendicular to their car, "This way, we stop for nothing,"

Ariston nodded, and stood beside Rorak. As soon as Rorak finished strapping the six Pokeballs onto his belt, the two began running down the street.

--

"S-Sir, Dr. Michals sir?" a nervous man behind a computer screen spat out, as he spoke he read, and re-read in information, hoping it was inaccurate, or that he had misread.. No, it was correct, his eyes widened by the reality of the situation.

Dr. Michals sat at a white lab table, his eye was pressed against a microscope, and firmly focused on whatever he was working currently on, he was obviously not eager to be disturbed by the low-level employees monitoring data.

Dr. Michals wore his familiar white lab coat, and black rimmed glasses, the room he was in had a single lab table in the center, and a depressed section of floor, where the motoring station was, below ground level. The room, like everything else in the complex, was white.

"Yes? What it is it?" Dr. Michals said in a sigh, standing up from his table and walking over to the lower section of the room. He made his way down the small set of steps to the monitoring station, where as many as ten people would be at once, all glued to a computer screen watching for changes.

"Sir, the time-lock on Subject 14 is about to expire, sir," the techie mumbled, the first and last words out of your mouth were 'sir' when you spoke directly to Dr. Michals. He had too much authority under him to risk disrespecting him.

"Oh my," the Doctor said, leaning over, looking at the data set on the screen, "have the satellites picked his location up yet?"

"Sir, no sir... H-he's still in an area off the grid of the satellites ... s-sir." the nervous man returned,

Dr. Michals took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, the problems they'd had with Subject 14 so far had been quite enough, now they're would be more problems.

"Well then. We may have a visitor soon if we don't do something about this, " Dr. Michals said calmly, "And I think you know what a visit from Subject 14 means, or have you forgotten?"

A cold sweat gripped the computer technicians body, his eyes flashed back to the day when Subject 14 was still here, when he... 'escaped'.

"Fix it."

"S-sir, yes sir," he stammered, Dr. Michals stern works awakening him from his flashback.

"Sir, suggest we send Flax, sir," the techie humbly asked, he knew if Flax was sent out, Subject 14 would end up dead, and that seemed like the safest thing to have happen right now.

"Are you suggesting that we kill Subject 14 mister ..." Dr. Michals asked with annoyance, looking down to the nameplate next to the computer for the employee's name, "... Mr. Brooks?"

(yes)

"Sir, no sir, " Brooks said, despite his hopes,

"Are you aware that Subject 14 was a rare success?"

"Sir, yes sir,"

"And are you aware of Flax's record with engagements?

"Sir, yes sir," Brooks said again, beginning to speak with a quiver in his voice,

"And ARE you aware that if he ends up dead, all MY hard work is for nothing?"

"Ss-sir, yes sir,"

Dr. Michals removed his glasses, and coldly stared at Brooks with his bright, pale blue eyes. Although Brooks wasn't facing Dr. Michals, he could feel his gaze piercing his body.

"And you wouldn't want that, would you Mr. Brooks?" the Doctor finished, a displeased hiss in his voice,

"Sir, no sir, perhaps Flax should be deployed with the intention of retrieving Subject 14, and only to harm him to render him unable to fight...sir."

"Hmmm," Dr. Michals said, considering his suggestion, he idly chewed on the tip of his glasses mulling over the possible outcomes, "that's not a bad idea, Mr. Brooks,"

"Sir, thank you sir," Brooks said, his nerves beginning to relax

"Subject 14's body was heavily damaged during his escape from our facility, and assuming he physically recovers, too much stress damage will have already been done to his mind to make him fully activated. He won't be much trouble... Alright, " Dr. Michals said, clapping his hands, "make it so."

"Sir, yes sir,"

Brooks sighed with relief, Flax would never take orders from him or anyone, plus, once Flax began fighting, no matter the mission, Flax would get so worked up and carried away, the enemy always ended up dead.

Before Brooks could relax, Dr. Michals spoke again,

"Also, Mr. Brooks, I am no fool. I am quite aware of the large distain for Subject 14 among the staff here, and if he winds up dead from Flax, I assure you... You -will- have the same fate," he said, his back to Mr. Brooks, "do I make my self quite clear?"

"Sir...crystal, sir.." Brooks said... his body numb with worry. Brooks knew, he'd just dug his own grave.

"Good."

--

It made Ariston sick.

They had ran though streets littered with dead bodies, people crushed under pieces of shattered buildings... mothers, fathers, brothers, daughters, sons, and friends, it didn't matter to Team Galactic, everyone was dead.

Bullet holes were riddled in the windshields of cars, people lifeless inside, even children lay bloody in the streets, it felt like war.

The first body Ariston had saw, Ariston felt his body grow weak with disgust. Rorak told him not to look down, and to keep his eyes focused ahead...but he couldn't help it, he kept averting to looking around him, and seeing everything.

Rorak and Ariston had ran though the streets, Rorak finding the way though the battle-zone from Alakazam's directions, with out Alakazam telling him the way prior to leaving, they'd be lost with out a hope, the city was unrecognizable with all the damage.

They'd passed the numerous dead bodies, climbed over debris, and ran as fast as their legs could carry them, they'd spent enough time getting to the city, now they needed to help.

But now, they had arrived.

Rorak stood before the scene, Ariston behind him.

It was the courtyard to the Center for Modern Technology Research and Design, or CMTRD, which happened to be the largest complex in the entire city.

This confirmed Rorak's suspicions, this was a robbery, and anything coming from the CMTRD would probably be both expensive and dangerous.

The bottom floor served as a museum and popular tourist attraction, the top few floors was where all the real science took place. All major military and medical advances in the last 20 years came from the CMTRD. Rorak was almost sure that they were constantly commissioned by the government to create new weapons, besides, there was no way the military would spend so much money on the CMTRD if they weren't making things for them.

Rorak saw the huge complex before him, a barrier of six police cars divided the courtyard, on one side, the CMTRD, on the other, anyone willing to fight.

The huge complex of the CMTRD was that like a museum, a massive, marble staircase fanned out from the entrance, leading to a walkway, surrounded on either side by freshly kept grass, flowers, and trees, or what was left of them.

Everything leading up the the CMTRD was symmetrical, the large courtyard served as the cities Central Park, and was always populated, any time of day. Now, the courtyard was heavily damaged and cratered from the destruction of the battles between Team Galactic and the trainers helping the police. The trees were broken down, the grass was depressed in, scorched and torn up from Pokemon fighting, the walkway was nothing but rubble now... fires burned from buildings surrounding the park.

Dragon Pokemon flew overhead, ground and rock types below, and finally, they Psychic types providing support from behind.

Ariston stood behind Rorak, watching the brilliant tragedy before him, despite its nature, it was amazing to watch.

In the sky, an extraordinary display of flying Pokemon fighting amongst one another created a display of incomprehensible chaos.

There were a large amounts of both Pidgeot, and Staraptor, along with the pre-evolved forms, along with the less common Vespiquen, and Yanmega. The Pokemon moved so fast, Ariston wasn't able to see what some of their types were, others he'd never seen before.

One stood out from the rest;

A Charizard, flying high above the buildings spread it's large red wings in the sky, and let out an explosion of flame into the night. The flame cut through the air, and met with it's target, an unfortunate Staraptor, who fell lifelessly to the ground moments after. Following the Charizard blast of fire, it let out another, the fire cutting though the air unlike any other Pokemon's attack in the sky, whatever Pokemon it struck, would let out a shrill cry of death, then fall to the graveyard of battle below.

The Charizard, still in the heat of the battle within the sky. preformed a free-fall dive, heading straight down to the earth, his target, a preoccupied Electivire fighting a pack of savage, brutal Houndoom, cautiously circling the Electivire.

One of the Houndoom already made it's attack on the Electivire, and clamped it's jaw down upon the Electivire's forearm. The Electivire made an attempt to shake the Pokemon off of his body, but was almost instantly attack by another, digging it's horns into the Pokemon's legs. The pack was on the offensive now, a third Houndoom ripped its teeth into the Electivire's torso. The Electivire staggered, blood dripping from where the Houndoom latched onto him, and falling down to the already gore-soaked rubble beneath him.

In a fierce display of power, the Electivire stomped it's foot onto the ground, and let out a distinctive yell, it sounded both in pain and anger. The Houndoom, still trying to take the Electivire down, remained attached to his body with both their horns and teeth. Following the Electivire's roar, a large current of static thunder cascaded from the Electivire's body.

In a flash, Electivire unleashed a titanic Thunder attack, erupting from his body as ferociously as his yell had. The Houndoom were ensnared in this brutal discharge, and went limp after moments. The Houndoom fell off of the panting Electivire, who took a moment to recover, and wasn't able to see what was coming from above.

The Charizard slammed into the Electivire, its teeth ripping though the soft flesh on the Electivire's neck, blood squirting from the entry.

The force at which Charizard few down knocked the large Electivire to the ground instantly, both Charizard's teeth and claws ripping though any flesh they made contact with. Electivire hit the ground, Charizard standing triumphantly on top of it. As soon as the Electivire's back hit the ground, Charizard released its grip on the electric Pokemon's neck, then raised its head. Charizard waisted no time, and released an unimaginable explosion of fire, point blank into the Electivire's face.

Charizard kicked off of the limp body of the bloody remains of the Electivire, and took to the sky once again, shredding anything in its wake.

What remained of the Electivire was nothing more than a blackened, bloody corpse.

The scene had death in every second, the sheer amount of Pokemon made it impossible to fully guard yourselves. As brutal as it was, Ariston prayed the Charizard was on their side.

All this action Ariston saw took place just in the few moments Ariston and Rorak took to take shelter behind the police cars.

There were trainers constantly withdrawing and sending their Pokemon out, who were making the ultimate sacrifice to just have a fighting change against Team Galactic.

"Rorak!" An older male voice yelled, running to them, "Thank god,"

Ariston would have usually turned to see what Rorak was doing with this new person, but he couldn't bear to take his eyes off of the spellbinding performance before him. He would never see anything like this in his life again.

"Who's the kid?" the man asked, looking over at Ariston,

"He's got friends staying in the city, and wants to find them before all hell breaks loose here," Rorak returned.

"Good luck to you then, kid," the older voice spoke to Ariston,

Ariston heard the words, but they rang hollow in his head, he was still fixed on the chaos before him.

"We're in trouble, my friend," the man said, turning his attention back to Rorak, "there aren't many powerful trainers here, and the ones that we did have already had their Pokemon either defeated ... or killed, "

"I know, Gordon, I'm here to help," Rorak answered to the frantic man, "tell me what happened."

Ariston wanted to know more than anything what had happened to the city, but still, he remained motionless and silent... mesmerized by the orchestra of battle before him.

He watched an Onyx savagely bring its tail down upon the weakened body of a Sandslash, crushing it to death instantly.

He saw a Scyther rip though an entire swarm of Zubat and Golbat, leaving a bloody wake in its path as the shreds of dead Pokemon fell to the gore infested ground. Moments after, the Scyther was attacked from behind.. a titanic Nidoking. Before the Scyther could even turn around to face the new enemy, the Nidoking jaggedly snapped its neck. The Scyther's body fell to the ground to join the other fallen Pokemon.

Ariston closed his eyes.

It was an unending change of death. His mind went numb from the killing. He felt something on his face, running down the side of his cheek.. he wiped it off and looked at his hand.

Water?

It was a tear -- all he felt at this moment was a sicking combination of fear, and disgust, yet a single tear came from his eye.

Ariston knew his mind was telling him to stop -- to stop watching the death before him of Pokemon fighting for nothing... before it drove him insane.

Ariston collected himself, Rorak was right in the car before.. he couldn't afford to be emotional, all he could do was help.

He saw the man Rorak was talking to now, it was an older man with scraggly grey hear, and an the unkempt stubble of a beard. He wore the familiar dark blue of a police officer on his pants, but a white long sleeved shirt on his body, with a Kevlar Bulletproof Jacket on top.

'Police Chief Gordon Cerio' the jacket read.

"Four sets of explosions," Gordan started explaining to Rorak, "each made up of any number of small explosive devices, we're not sure how or where they placed them, but the fact is they caused enough damage to four of the five major streets leading to here. We can't get any more support from Police around the city, there are Galactic Members driving around in Black SUVs making attack on citizens, we think its just a distraction for the majority of the force, the safety of the citizens is our priority, " he continued, his voice yelling over the sounds of explosions and gunshots.

"What about S.P.E.A.R. ?" Rorak asked,

Ariston recognized the name; Special Pokemon Engagement And Re-enforcement, or S.P.E.A.R.. They dealt with dangerous trainers or Team Galactic situation, they were all the elite Pokemon Trainers of the Police force. Ariston had seen them on TV, but never in a situation like this...

"They're on their way, but they can't get though the destroyed streets, we only got here because we managed to get into the park in time to evacuate the citizens before the second bomb went off -- the only open road is over there," Gordon continued, pointing to a dark, empty road that entered directly into the Pokemon battleground, "they've not been able to get though that road, Team Galactic has some sort of Psychic Pokemon preventing them from getting though -- they're taking alternate routes on foot now."

"That'll take take, Gordon, and it doesn't look like you ha--" Rorak started, his voice drowned out by the noise of an explosion from some large Pokemon's attack, "...doesn't look like you have much, " he finished.

"I know, you need to get your Pokemon out there," Gordon returned, an undertone of sadness in his voice, "we just lost one of our toughest, that Electivire out there was one of mine..."

The expression on Gordon's face seemed to scream sadness, no doubt he'd just lost no only a Pokemon, but a friend -- however, Gordon was in command, and couldn't afford to appear emotional, the strong will in his voice seemed ready and willing to fight.

"Wait," Ariston said, finally breaking himself from his thoughts, "the explosions, what streets did they go off on?"

"Uhh, " Gordon said, remembering, "the first one was on Central, then on 16th and 22nd, then another on...

(Please, don't say 33rd and Columbus)

...on 18th and 28th...

(Please, don't say 33rd and Columbus)

...33rd and Columbus"

Ariston's face turned ghost white, Shane and Conti were staying on 33rd and Columbus for the night, if they hadn't gotten out before hand, no doubt they would have died in the explosion... from what Ariston had seen before, the bombs they used leveled most of the city block.

Rorak could tell by the expression on Ariston's face... his friends were there. Rorak immediately grabbed a Pokeball off his belt and released the familiar Alakazam beside Ariston.

"Alakazam, can you tell me if his friends are okay?" Rorak asked his Pokemon, knowing he could read the life of a Psychic Aura almost instantly.

Alakazam nodded.

Alakazam placed a majestic hand on Ariston's head, and the other in front of him, then closed his eyes.

He could see the two Ariston worried about in the boy's mind, he felt their life signs though the memories of Ariston, and looked for the same Psychic Aura somewhere alive in the city.

A moment passed, the only noise was that of the battle around them.

Alakazam took his hand from Ariston's head, and opened his eyes.

Ariston looked up at Alakazam, the suspense of the news making his heart beat out of his chest...

The Psychic Pokemon gave a slow nod up and down, Ariston immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where?" Ariston asked,

Alakazam pointed down one of the destroyed streets, showing Ariston the way.

Ariston stood up, and looked down the road, it looked mangled and death-ridden, like the one they had previously traveled down.

"I'm going," he told Rorak, "I have to,"

"Wait a minute kid, you can't just go an--" Gordon started, only to be cut off by Rorak,

"It's gonna be a hell of a lot safer down an empty street than it is here, Gordon," Rorak said, "Go do what you have to,"

Ariston nodded, but before he could go anywhere, he saw Rorak reach for his belt again,

"Take these two," Rorak said, tossing Ariston two Pokeballs, "they'll keep you safe."

"Thanks, Rorak," Ariston returned, placing the two unknown Pokemon onto his belt,

"Listen to me," Rorak warned, "Fight **-only- **if you have to, you see a Team Galactic member, you run. If someone attacks you, you run. If you're cornered, and your or someone else's life is in danger, use both Pokemon at once, and try to end the battle quickly, got it?"

Ariston nodded in affirmation -- not wanting to waste any more time, he left the shelter behind the police cars, and ran toward the empty street.

Alakazam, keep him moving in the right direction, okay? Rorak asked mentally to his Pokemon.

Rorak was met with a nod from his Alakazam, he'd maintain a mental connection with Ariston, and make sure he found his friends.

Ariston now gone, Rorak looked up at the scene of chaos again, he watched the same Charizard from before tear a Seviper in half between its teeth.

"Tell me that -thing- is on our side," Rorak hoped,

Gordon sighed, "I'm afraid not,"

"Didn't think so," Rorak returned.

"Here's the problem," Gordon explained, "take a good look at the top of the stairs,"

Rorak poked his head up from behind the cars, and squinted the the entrance to the CMTRD. At the top of the stairs, great white pillars formed an overhang for shade, making it difficult to see, but Rorak got the picture.

"Oh...Oh shit..." Rorak said, realizing why the police were being completely dominated by Team Galactic's Pokemon, "That IS a problem..."

There were seven...

Six Bronzong, three on each side of a Lunatone, the seventh -- each in deep, deep concentration.

Rorak turned his attention back to the battlefield, and focused on the Charizard again. Every Pokemon attack that was directed at the Charizard, and managed to strike it, dispersed harmlessly on impact.

For only a moment after any attack, Rorak was able to see a thin layer of purple Psychic Energy around the Charizard -- not only that, it was around every one of the enemies Pokmeon. They were all essentially ... invincible.

"We can't stop them because we can't touch them, Rorak," Gordon explained further, as he watched Rorak realize the problem, "with that many Psychic Pokemon concentrating like that, we'd need a damn miracle to overpower shields like that. In order to get though the shields they put up, we need something strong enough to over power not just the SIX Bronzong, but the Lunatone too,"

"Maybe not..." Rorak returned...thinking,

"What, you have an idea or something?" Gordon asked, almost sarcastically, "'Cause I'm all ears you know,"

Rorak said nothing, and reached down to his belt, removing the three remaining Pokeballs and holding them between his fingers on his right hand.

Rorak took an offensive stance, and took a few moments to mentally tell his Alakazam the plan.

"Got it?" he asked,

His Alakazam rarely spoke -- he simply nodded to Rorak.

"Let's go,"

Rorak threw out all three Pokeballs -- his bravest and his best -- to make a final stand against Team Galactic.

--

Ariston bolted down the undamaged streets he could find, the amount of broken buildings and debris in the streets made moving though them feel like an obstacle course.

The street he traveled down was far more damaged than the previous streets he'd seen damaged, the ground was so mangled with cracks and pieces of buildings, there was virtually no flat land to walk on. Ariston climbed though the mess, with faith that Alakazam had pointed him in the right direction.

Thankfully, Alakazam had also told him that Shane and Conti were still alive -- it relieved some of the stress of finding them, but not by much. The Munchlax and Cryogunk that Shane and Conti had would die in a second against any of the Pokemon he'd seen fighting in the CMTRD courtyard, as would all of his Pokemon.

The only chance any of them had if he ran into a Team Galactic member would be the two Pokemon Rorak gave him, whatever they were.

Ariston climbed over another large slab of concrete laying atop a car, and carefully maneuvered to the ground, or what was left of it. The asphalt he stood on was once a part of the road, but now was virtually shattered, thankfully, Ariston had already gotten though the most severely damaged parts of the road. As he looked up, he could recognize an intersection -- good, he was but one street away from Shane and Conti.

Although Ariston felt like he was just following his gut, he could still feel a familiar sense in his mind. It was similar to the feeling of when Alakazam had placed his hand on Ariston's forehead prior to him leaving. It felt like Alakazam was still somewhat in his mind -- gently pushing him in the right direction.

Ariston looked at the intersection before him, four ways to go. The way that lead straight was severely damaged, an entire building was collapsed though it, making passing impossible.

A small residential building lay tumbled and cracked lengthwise past the intersection, and created a massive pile of rubble and stone. No one would be getting though there for months.

The next route, to Ariston's left in the intersection, was a bright, dangerous display of flames and smoke. Parked cars engulfed in fire populated the street, the sidewalk's trees were almost all toppled over in the street, spewing black smoke into the sky from the burning leaves and bark. From what Ariston could see, if he traveled down that way, he'd either get trapped in the flames, or suffocate from the clouds of black smoke the fires were giving off.

That left him two options:

Back the way he came, and to his left.

He couldn't turn back around, not with out finding Shane and Conti -- but the moment he did, they would get the hell out of the city, of that he was sure.

The street on his left was much less damaged than the others, it had broken concrete, smashed cars, and debris on the ground, of course, but compared to the others, it looked like his best bet. Ariston felt a familiar feeling in his mind, it just somehow felt like the right way to go, perhaps Alakazam was still giving him guidance towards his friends. Regardless, he knew he was close, he could feel that for sure.

He began down his chosen path, really, the only path at this point, every other way wasn't accessible.

Seeing the city in this condition felt like a different universe to Ariston, just the day before he'd walked these streets, full of people, Pokemon, cars, and life -- now, there was nothing to see but debris and death. It was terrifying to see the kind of measures Team Galactic was taking, and for what?

Ariston cut though the intersection and down the new street, as soon as he set foot on the asphalt again, he could feel himself closing in on Shane and Conti.

Ariston elevated his pace to a steady run, he didn't want to move too fast and fall on something dangerous, he still had to be careful, but he still wanted to find them fast, then get the hell out.

The street had cracks in both the concrete of the sidewalk and on the asphalt of the street, if anything it looked like damage from the bomb's reverberations though the ground. Hell, if Ariston hadn't known that explosion caused the damaged to the city, he might confuse it with an earthquake.

Further and further he ran down the empty road, dodging the larger piles of debris in an attempt to remain on flat land, the street was completely devoid of any life, and thankfully, no dead bodies -- here at least. Ariston kept on running down the black road, the streetlights were mostly cracked, or out, and provided little light to see -- the fires burning from various buildings and cars lit up the street more than they did.

The moon was an awful shade of blackened grey, Ariston couldn't see much of the moonlight from all the smoke rising above the city, but the moon was nearing full. Ariston only noticed due to the lack of moonlight, and the eerie glow of pale light it brought.

He finally cut though another busted patch of land, and began to turn a final corner, he knew he was close now. His friends were somewhere on this street, of that he was sure. As Ariston brought his head up to look down the street, he froze mid-step.

His body went numb as his eyes met upon a cold, black SUV. The men inside immediately noticed Ariston, and opened their doors.

--

--

Later...Miles away...

Iota walked the snowy path by himself, no Blaziken, no enemies, no friends -- he was alone again. It was a curious thing to Iota, he felt different. Being with Blaziken before was unusual, sure, but not unbearable. She might have been somewhat annoying and talkative, but still, not having her around now was...different.

He didn't know how to describe it, but he knew it was for the best. Judging by the kind of soft-hearted person she was, she would undoubtedly hold him back in a dangerous situation, she was obviously not the kind to stand by and watch the kind of brutality Iota had in planned for the doctors that had done this to him. He didn't know what else to do in his life, really, but find the doctors that had worked on him. Once he found them, even one, he was going to do whatever it took to return the kind of hell they put him though.

He did feel different though, physically more than anything else. They aches in his body were almost totally gone. Before when he would walk, he would stumble and fall over frequently, his body felt like it was on fire before. Now, he felt...good.

His walk was smooth and painless, his breathing was full and refreshing, perhaps all his body needed was a quick rest to revitalize itself.

Iota let what he could manage of a smile on his face momentarily as he picked up his walking speed. This was the first time in his short life that he could remember where he felt no aches, no pain, it was incredible. It was still early in the morning, he hadn't been walking for too long, but from this point on, he didn't expect for his body to have any problems. Perhaps now, he could understand the unusual events that had happened to him -- by that he meant the metal, or whatever it was, creeping out of his skin in dangerous situations.

Back when he was injured, what bothered him the most was the fact that his mind was more than willing to ignore the pain and go on, but his body seemed ready to quit at any moment -- it seemed weak, and useless. Now, now it felt powerful.

Perhaps this meant he would be able to control the metal inside him willingly. The thought was entertaining to Iota, if he was able to gain any control, any at all, he'd be unstoppable.

As he walked, he raised a bandaged hand before his face. He made a gentle fist, then released -- just tightening and relaxing his muscles -- he didn't _feel _the same ways he did when he involuntarily drew out the alloy.

He focused, trying to replicate the feeling he had prior, he tried to feel the emotions he had in the ally way the first time it happened... What was it? He felt pain, for sure, that's when his body was at its weakest, but there's no way just the feeling of pain would draw out his strength.

_'what else...?' _he thought,

He was angry, he was aggravated, his heart was racing -- too many things to name.

Iota let out a groan,

"This is stupid," he said audibly to himself, annoyed at his failure,

Iota lowered his hand, and focused back on the road before him. This time when he looked, he saw something other than a white wasteland in the distance there was ... something.

He squinted to try and see what exactly it was, but all he saw was a black blur down the road. The blur, however, was moving towards him, and fast.

As the black blur grew, Iota heard the low hum of an engine accelerating. The object he was in the distance must have been some sort of automobile. The car sped down the road in the direction of Iota. As it grew closer, he was able to see clearly enough that it was a Black SUV with heavily tinted windows.

Though Iota knew nothing about people, emotions, or life for that matter, he did know the basic structure of the world and was able to recognize most things that humans used. It was useless to wonder why, for he would probably never know, but he felt like he could understand most things he saw. He knew what a car was, he knew airplanes, guns, Pokemon, humans, and numerous other aspects of life. Of course, he didn't know much on each individual thing, but he knew _what _they were.

It felt unusual to Iota to see someone out on this road, so far, he had only seen Blaziken out here, and didn't expect to see anyone else until he reached some sort of civilization.

Regardless, Iota calmly moved to the side of the road, to avoid the passing SUV. Quickly enough, the SUV sped past him as quickly as it had came.

The passenger side window was open as the car sped by, enabling Iota to glance inside for the split second he was able.

A man with a long scar on his face sat next to the driver, meeting eyes with Iota as they passed. The second they locked gazes seemed to freeze time for Iota. The man in the car had an unusual look in his eye -- not desperation like the man who'd tried to rob him, and not kindness like Blaziken, something different, something Iota didn't like.

As the car sped off, Iota began to feel dizzy, not from his body or the cold, but something in his brain seemed to be changing. Iota felt like his head was splitting open, he let out an involuntary wince in pain, and ran his fingers though his hair, gripping the front of his skull. It was like a headache, deep, deep inside his mind.

Iota felt his brain start to feed him another memory creation. It was different this time, it felt unusual, it felt, foreign, but most of all, it felt dangerous. He finally lost the ability to think as his mind played his new memory.

--

TIMELOCK: StatusExpired . . .

WELCOMESUBJECT14

/ STAGESEVEN

...LOADING...

/ UPLOADINGIMPUTMEMORYDATA

CMDUPLOADALLFILES

Y/N?

Y

LOADINGFILES...

The words scrolled across a black screen with green text.

There was nothing in the room but the familiar figure of the female doctor that had worked on him before, and a computer monitor in the room. Gentle, soft music played from somewhere, though Iota couldn't tell from which direction. The walls were white, and there was a white tinted glass door. It was too opaque to see though, but the words were visible. From the inside, the words appeared backwards, but Iota saw they read: LAB 28

Iota lay in an inclined chair, his body untouched by any sort of equipment but the attachments of a heart monitor, and the device on his head. It was a large metal ring that was attached to the hundreds of needles that stuck into every angle of Iota's head. Iota felt absolutely no pain from this, if anything, the combination of the gentle music, and the soft chair made him feel relaxed.

Iota couldn't think, he just felt the warm sense of relaxation. This stage was by far the easiest, so far at least. He could hear the text on the computer screen in his brain. It was a gentle robotic female voice...it almost sounded romantic to him.

/ FILESLOADED

PROCEED?

Y/N

Y

IMPUTTWELVEDIGITNUMERICALPASSWORD

ENTER•

IMPUTMASTEROVERRIDEPASSWORD

ENTER•

WORKING. . .

/MEMORYACCESSED

NAME: SUBJECT14

PROGRESS: STAGESEVEN

AGE: UNKNOWN

SUCCESSEXPECTANCY: 78

/ MEMORYSUPPRESSIONBEGINNING

WORKING . . .

As these words were said in his head, Iota felt the horrible memory of the previous six stages, and all the pain, agony, and hate that he experienced begin to fade away. Iota's eyes were half shut, his body was relaxed, and he felt nothing but relief as the memories began to forget themselves. It felt like a gentle wave of amnesia traveling though his mind as the memories faded. As the wave continued though his head, the memories of his creation dampened and became nothing but a fuzzy recollection.

/ MEMORYSUPPRESSION: STATUSCOMPLETE

/ TIMELOCKENGAGED

/ MEMORYFINALIZATIONANDUPLOAD

PROCEED?

Y/N

Iota remembered the events, but no details. He was thankful, and nearly felt glad for his situation in the whitewashed facility.

The gentle voice of the female doctor spoke to Iota,

"Almost done, you've been great, you know," she said, "After all, we ARE just doing our jobs." she let out a pleading sigh, "Please don't hate us as much as you do, Subject 14. Perhaps if you knew how you got involved with this project, you'd understand."

Iota remained silent. The doctor had really just asked him to hate the doctors less, it was almost, **almost** an apology. Even though Iota's memories were suppressed, that was still too much to ask. He would never forgive the doctors, no matter what they did to try and make it up to him.

"Do you know what I'm doing, Subject 14?"

Iota didn't respond.

"I'm uploading all the information and skill you'll ever need to know. Try and relax, your brain is about to be put under a lot of strain."

Despite the numerous needles inside of Iota's skull, he did feel relaxed.

"You're heavily sedated, too, which is why you're not restrained,"

Iota tried to move his arm, his brain sent the signal, but his body didn't respond. He could see clearly enough, he really wasn't restrained -- it was the first time the doctors had ever done so. If Iota had been able to get up, he would have probably ripped the machine off of his head, and gotten out any way he could manage. Yet, he had neither the desire nor the ability to do that now.

"I'm going to being uploading now. After this, you'll be familiar with most forms of classified military combat, as well as a large number of fighting styles to fit your...unique abilities, as soon as this upload kicks in, you'll be able to access your body's physical changes. Lucky you," the doctor explained, "You'll also have any everyday skills you'll need in order to be perfect at your, uh, 'job'. You'll find out what that is soon enough,"

"Here we go."

Y

/ STATUSWORKING. . .

It seemed to Iota that they weren't going to waste any time finishing their jobs. They were really going to intentionally overload his brain with data, and there was nothing he could do.

The gentle hum of the device attached to Iota's head began. He sighed as an extra dose of sedation kicked in, and made his senses dull.

"You'll have to be unconscious for this to work, -- Uhh, I mean, Subject 14," the doctor continued

"Damn, I'll have to delete that from your memory..."

Iota had just heard his name -- his -real- name from the doctor beside him. She worked fast, though, she'd removed it from his memory almost instantly. He strained himself to remember what she had said, what she had called him, but he couldn't, there was just a blank patch where she spoke. He wanted to know his name more than anything, he desperately wanted to be something different than "Subject 14". His memory was blank, he couldn't remember that one word she had said.

It was too late, the memory was gone.

/ BEGINNINGSHUTDOWN

Iota's vision went faded to white as the upload began.

--

Blaziken walked alone on the road, still in a huff from the argument she'd had with Iota. She knew she was the only one who had actually argued, but still, she felt bad.

"Guess I'm back on my own again..." she sighed sarcastically, "Woo hoo!"

She hadn't walked far since her and Iota took separate directions, she'd only walked a tiny ways down the road. Currently, she had found herself next to a large, dead tree. In the back of her mind, she was waiting for Iota to come back and travel with her, even as unlikely as it seemed.

She tried to tell herself that she wasn't upset, though deep down, she really was. Blaziken couldn't lie to herself. She felt an odd sense of incompletion without Iota.

She didn't know why, she'd known him for only moments really, and he'd been cold and distant the few times they did actually talk. He was unusual though, and there was something about him that Blaziken couldn't get over -- she couldn't put her finger on what it was, but she liked it, she admired it.

As she looked upon the road in front of her, she lazily lost focus on what was happening around her. She was quickly reminded of her surroundings by a large car that had come to a halt on the dirt road before her.

She tilted her head inquisitively at this, not sure what to make of the situation.

It was a black SUV, the passenger side door opened immediately, and a man's boot pressed down with a dull crunch as he pressed it into the snowy road.

"We really don't have time for this," the driver advised, stepping outside of the vehicle.

"Shut up," the man returned, "Do you realize how useful a Blaziken would be me? And do you know how fucking rare they are to find way out here?"

The driver sighed, "Fine, whatever, just make it quick," he said, getting back in the car,

"I'll take this thing down in five minutes, watch," the man said confidently.

"Oh...Shit." Blaziken said to herself, these people were anything but friendly, the man on the passenger side seemed wanting to capture her, and more than confident in his ability to do so.

Blaziken took an instinctive step backwards. The man in front of her wore a uniform of some sort, he had a large bandage on his chest, with a bit of blood soaking through it. He also had a long, defined, scar on his face.

She'd been though this before, eager and excited trainers trying to capture her, and she'd always been able to escape. She wasn't just some weak and starving wild Pokemon, she was a Blaziken. She knew how rare her type were, and throughout her entire life, mercilessly trained herself to be stronger than most trainer's Pokemon. Hopefully, she'd be able to get away safely once again.

The man pull out two Pokeballs and in a flash, released a Nidoking and Magmar onto the snowy road.

_"Two?" _she thought, _"Trainers aren't allowed to use two! This isn't good, this is not good."_

The Nidoking stood triumphantly upon its hind legs, rolling its neck from left to right in preparation for the fight. The titan seemed cocky, almost, as it casually shook its shoulders, like a prize fighter before a title fight. The Nidoking were tough, Blaziken knew that, they were 300 pound powerhouses who'd easily pummel Blaziken if she weren't careful.

The Magmar though, was an odd choice for the trainer, sure they'd deliver flame based attacks that'd usually send any other Pokemon running for cover, but against a fellow fire Pokemon, the Magmar wouldn't have much effect.

"Make that Blaziken ready for capture, and hurry up!" the man told his Pokemon in an aggressive voice.

The Magmar, not missing a beat, immediately fired an intense burst of flame at Blaziken, the Nidoking was quick to follow, snapping to attention and charging at Blaziken.

Blaziken knew the Magmar's flames wouldn't do much damage to her, but still, enough exposure to a Magmar's fire could still weaken her.

She gracefully avoided the flame by rolling on her heel, and spinning to her immediate right, an easy dodge for her. The flames hissed though the air beside her, instantly melting the snow below where it traveled. The flames finally found a target, and struck the tree behind her, the intense heat combined with the lifeless dead bark ignited instantly.

Blaziken remained on her feet, and brought her head up to react to the Nidoking running at her. She did what made the most sense to her, and erupted with a boiling hot explosion of fire directed at the Nidoking. The column of fire sizzled towards the Nidoking, yet the advancing Pokemon refused to even flinch. The flames struck Nidoking squarely in the chest, and wrapped around the large Pokemon. The red hot intensity of the fire caused the Pokemon's skin to boil and blister. The charring of the Pokemon's skin didn't even slow the Nidoking down, it continued to run at her.

This felt differently than a regular Pokemon battle, this Nidoking had a crazy, heartless look in its eye. The fire attack Blaziken had hit it with would have stopped or at least slowed down most Pokemon of that size, and a normal trainer would have stopped the battle to treat the burns immediately. This Pokemon was badly damaged already, but not slowing down. The trainer must have been unimaginably tough to build a pain tolerance of that high.

Seeing how this Nidoking behaved, she made up her mind. She couldn't let this asshole catch her and turn her into a mindless battle monster, she'd rather die.

Before Blaziken had time to prepare herself, the Nidoking ran though and remaining flames she dispensed, and was directly before her. Still in motion, it whipped around its powerful fist, and made contact with the right side of Blaziken's head. The impact rattled her vision, and sent a shiver of pain down her spine. The knock-back sent her tumbling to the ground many feet away, she had taken a hard hit from the large Pokemon, a very hard hit. Blood came from the site of the impact on her face, she could feel a fracture in her delicate cheek bone, but running solely off the rush of battle, she quickly was on her feet again. As she jumped to a standing position, she let out a gasp of both shock and pain, flames from the Magmar wrapped around her body, and sent her back down to the ground. The two Pokemon were beginning to strike in succession, the situation looked grim to Blaziken.

--

Iota snapped back into attention.

His brain was on, memories of fighting, skills, and abilities engulfed his head. His mind felt like a sponge, absorbing everything he could imagine, the moment he could think of something unfamiliar, his mind told him all about it. This impulse of information was met with a massive electrical discharge within the neurons of Iota's brain, the equivalent to a titanic migraine. Iota put a hand on his forehead, and groaned in reaction to this.

His mind wasn't all that changed within him, his body felt different, it felt like something totally new. Iota stood motionless with his hand clutching his head instinctively. Iota gasped, and breathed heavily and slow, it felt like he was spinning uncontrollably. He slammed his emerald eyes shut, and waited for the feeling to pass, though even without seeing, he still felt like his body was being tossed mercilessly around. Information was still coming to him, it was still too much to process, he wasn't able to think, his brain seemed overloaded by the stress of this.

The pain in his head began to fade back into his mind from whence it came, slowly yes, but eventually he began to lose the spinning feeling he had prior. He slowly and cautiosly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to erase the blurriness, and began to see clearly again.

It was still coming slow to Iota, but he was beginning to remember somethings, he was beginning to remember how to fight. It seemed that the amount of data his brain stored on fighting outweighed anything else he might have learned, seemed whoever made him what he was wanted to make sure he could defend himself.

It was all still fuzzy, but he was sure of one thing -- he gained some sort of control.

The impact of this made his heart rate unusually quick, something major had just changed inside of him, and he had no idea how. He didn't feel physically different, only mentally, it felt strange, but he felt like he could even -think- faster.

He must be nearing completion, whatever Stage Seven was, it must have been near the end of the procedure. Though segments of his memories were missing, he felt a sense of wholeness, he felt stronger, smarter, faster...

...He felt invincible.

He exhaled, and turned his attention to the surrounding world. He looked down the familiar road, and saw, still, nothing but a bleak white tundra. He turned behind him, towards the path that the black SUV took, he saw something unusual, something in the distance.

There was a thick black veil of smoke being spewed into the air coming from a burning dead tree. This struck a nerve with Iota, a burning tree wasn't exactly common in a snow-filled area, something was indubitable amiss.

In the immediate area around the tree, Iota could faintly see the explosions of flames traveling though the air. Though the black smoke made it difficult to see, Iota could see what looked like two fire type Pokemon fighting each other.

Fire types.. they would be unusual out here, not to mention fighting.

(Blaziken)

Iota realized the severity of the situation. It must have been Blaziken fighting another fire type, probably sent by a trainer. Iota did not panic, nor fear the situation, he still didn't experience or understand that kind of emotion, but he did feel something else. Iota felt obligated to protect her now, after all, she'd saved him, and ignoring a situation to repay her didn't feel right to him. Besides, after that massive influx of changes he'd just experienced in his mind, it'd be interesting to see what he could do. Perhaps the stress on his mind and body would be dangerous, yes, but he was more curious than cautious at this point.

As random breezes swept though the battle field, Iota managed to see a faint glimpse of what was happening. Though the smoke, he could still see the frequent fire attacks, and ... something else. There was a third Pokemon, something besides Blaziken and the other fire type. He could see its outline sprinting though the smoke, swinging wildly.

As the cover of the smoke lifted momentarily from a powerful gust of wind from the empty tundra surrounding them, he managed to make out the figure of a Nidoking wildly swinging at its target. He stared deeper into the smog towards the jets of flames. He saw Blaziken, and the enemy fire type combating one another, it was a Magmar.

In the seconds he had to see the fight, his eyes frantically studied the area. He wanted to asses exactly what he was going to be up against. He watched Blaziken being knocked around by the bone crushing blows of the Nidoking, she usually recovered quickly enough, but the moment she tried counterattack on the Nidoking, the Magmar dashed in the way, and her attack harmlessly dissipated on impact. She was looking tired, and at this rate, if he didn't intervene soon, she'd either be killed or captured. He wasn't wiling to let either of those happen. There was a black SUV parked on the road next to the battle, identical to the one that had passed Iota just moments ago.

Could he stop both a Nidoking and a Magmar? He considered this for a moment, and quickly realized -- the thought of finding out the hard way excited him.

Iota had an odd feeling about this, not fear, not nervousness, just something felt wrong. Regardless, it was time to help.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and concentrated. The hiss of a weak breeze passing by his face broke the silence.

In an instant, Iota shot off the ground, kicking back a large amount of the dirt and snow where he perviously stood, and shot down the road.

His acceleration shocked him, something like this unnatural speed would be impossible to him before. He half ran, half leapt down the path, moving as fast as he was able. His nearly gliding feet barely even touched the ground in between strides, and when they did, they depressed the ground slightly from impact.

Iota felt this amazing serge of strength inside of him. Just running felt amazing to him, he couldn't wait to fight, it was the only thing he was sure he could do.

Iota wasted no time, and continued sprinting down the pathway, his eyes locked upon the battlefield covered in the cloak of smog. He didn't know much about his body yet, or what he was going to do when he got there, but he knew he could help, now, he wasn't a helpless traveler collapsing in the snow anymore, he was a warrior.

--

Blaziken was struck again. The wind was knocked out of her lungs as the Nidoking impacted her stomach, as she doubled over from the hit, the Nidoking swung at her head as she brought it down. She was knocked down once again, she'd taken too many hits, she didn't know how much longer she could fight, or even survive.

Before she could get on her feet again, the Nidoking was already upon her. She wasn't even able to catch her breath from the previous hit before the Nidoking raised its large foot and let it come crashing down to where Blaziken lay. She managed to toss herself out of the way before being crushed under the weight of the Nidoking's stomp.

She scrambled to her feet once again and began fearfully backing up, and as she did, the Nidoking relentlessly charged her again. She couldn't bear to take any more hits from that mad titan, or she probably wouldn't be getting back up any time soon. Blaziken unleashed another punishing jet of fire headed dead on for the Nidoking. Yet, like almost every time she had attacked before, the Magmar stepped in the way to let the attack harmlessly impact its body.

The Magmar made all her fire attacks almost totally useless, and she wouldn't last long if she faced the Nidoking in close combat. As much as she hated to admit it, her future was looking quite grim.

The strange, scarred trainer watched the battle confidently, looking forward to owing a new Blaziken.

The winds changed, the column of smoke bellowing off of the burning tree blew down onto the battle field. A thick cloud of black haze covered the area in an opaque sheet of darkness. Blaziken coughed as she inhaled a small amount of smoke, to top her situation off now, she wasn't able to see her enemies through the smoke, though, on the other hand, they weren't able to see her either. Perhaps this was her chance. If she ran into the open, they'd spot her almost instantly, in the bright white snow, she'd stick out like a sore thumb, and there wasn't much of anywhere she could hide out here. It seemed her only option was to attack.

Blaziken was weakened heavily by the assault of the enemy Pokemon in the battle, but she still was able to retain enough strength for one final assault. She could just hope she would be able to hit one of her enemies thought the smoke, and not waste her final amount of energy on a miss.

She concentrated, and strained herself to work though her pain. She was bleeding in a number of places, she had impact cuts all over her body, many on her face and head. Internally, she felt like she had any number of broken ribs, a thin line of blood trailed from her mouth and down her chin. Blaziken was exhausted.

Blaziken focused as hard as she could, whatever strength she had left, it was going into this attack. Finally she attacked, the air around her exploded into fire as she exhaled a catastrophic Fire Blast.

The five pronged star of flames cut though the ocean of smoke effortlessly, clearing a visible path as it did so. The snow on the ground instantly melted, then evaporated as the fire superheated the air.

The Fire Blast bypassed the Magmar. Good.

The Fire Blast sailed past the Nidoking. Good.

Neither of the Pokemon were her targets, she needed to take out the person who started all of this. As the Fire Blast passed the two enemy Pokemon, the turned around to see where it was headed.

The scarred trainer's expression went from that of confidence to fear as he saw the attack was intended for him.

"Shit!" he yelled, as he began to back up, nearly paralyzed with fear, "Magmar!". If he was hit with that Fire Blast, he'd be done for. Humans couldn't withstand almost any Pokemon attack, especially a Fire Blast -- not many Pokemon could even take a direct hit from that.

Blaziken had to take him out, Blaziken could feel that he was a bad person. Double teaming a Pokemon, beating her nearly death, and training his Pokemon to madness...he wasn't a trainer, he was a poacher. Blaziken was not fighting to resist being captured anymore, she was fighting for her life. She had every right to attack that bastard.

Blaziken watched the flames travel straight for him, then impact. The flames wrapped around the target and exploded the air around them, a thick fiery explosion cut though the smoke. A column of burning flesh and charred bone spiraled upwards in a loud explosion of raw power. Blaziken heard a scream rise out from the attack...but not from a human.

As the flames died down, Blaziken saw what she had hit...

The scarred man had called out for his Magmar, seconds before the fire hit to be a scapegoat for him. The Magmar stood in front of its trainer, its arms outstretched, dying. The entire front of its body was burned away, its skin was blackened and torn apart by the attack, pieces of burnt skin fell to the ground and idly landed in a puddle of the creatures blood.

Magmar had taken almost every one of Blaziken's attacks, and was beginning to be weakened by them. The sheer force of the Fire Blast careened Magmar over the edge, and tore it apart.

The man sighed in relief at his own safety, and shifted back into confidence. He felt no concern for his Magmar in the slightest, he'd trained it to mindlessly follow his commands, and never consider its own safety or well being.

A blood-filled cough exited the Magmar's mouth, and landed down on the ground. Magmar's body was quick to follow. The creature collapsed onto the ground, and landed face-down and motionless.

She saw the dying creature on the ground, parts of its body still burned with a small flame, the puddle of blood beneath it grew larger and larger by the second. She may have taken out one of the enemy Pokemon, but she felt no joy.

The Magmar let out weak moans of approaching death, Blaziken's heart sank as she saw the suffering she had brought to the Magmar. She knew that mercy was something she'd never receive from her enemies, but it was also what separated her from them. Still, she felt just terrible at what she had done.

The scarred man looked down at his damaged Magmar with disgust, waiting for it to pick itself up and return to battle. The Magmar attempted once to push itself off the ground, but hadn't the strength, and fell back down. This just upset the man even more at his defeated Pokemon.

"I swear to god you're fucking useless," he said to his Magmar, kicking the creature in its side with his booted foot. Another groan of pain came out of the dying Magmar. Not wanting to see the shame of his defeated Pokemon any longer, he withdrew Magmar back into its Pokeball, and tossed it inside of the SUV behind him. He then looked back up towards his Nidoking, and turned his attention back to Blaziken.

She had seen enough. Her body may have been totally exhausted, but she clenched her bandaged fingers into a furious fist and sprinted at the scarred man before her. She didn't care what happened to her anymore, she just wanted to hit the bastard until he cried as weakly as the Magmar he had let take the hit for him. She knew that the man was all that was responsible for the madness and ferocity of the Pokemon she fought. Blaziken couldn't imagine the kind of person who would do something like that.

She ran at him, her body screaming at her though pain to stop, and swung at him. The man took a step back, and Blaziken's fist fell harmlessly short of the man's head. The damage to her body had made her move slowly and predictably, and if she couldn't land a hit on the trainer, she had no hope of fighting the Nidoking. She stumbled forward and quickly spun around to attack again, but froze.

The man stood before her, a handgun at arms length, pointed directly at her head.

"You're more trouble than you're worth, you know," the man said in a cold, bone dry tone.

Blaziken knew exactly what guns were, and she despised the. They were horrible inventions crafted by humans designed for one thing and one thing only -- to kill faster. Now, it seemed one was going to be used on her.

The winds changed again. Smoke blew past her face and behind her into the outstretching snow, the man had a clear shot.

"Nidoking, hold her down," he told his Pokemon, who quickly obeyed. Nidoking approached Blaziken, and reached a large hand towards her.

Blaziken sighed, she could struggle, but she knew she'd never overpower a Nidoking. She'd been beaten.

She could hear the Nidoking behind her, its warm breath caressing the back of her neck. The Pokemon outstretched its hands and held Blaziken's arms to her body, she had neither the strength nor energy to fight back. The Nidoking's breath became heavier and it stood behind her, almost like it was panting like a mad dog -- a horrifying and disgusting thought then crossed Blaziken's mind.

"I think he likes you," the man said in a taunting voice, "maybe if you train hard enough I'll let you two get..." he said clearing his throat with an 'ahem', "...better acquainted."

An expression of disgust took over her face, the thought was utterly repulsive to her, she couldn't even imagine doing such a thing with the mindless cretin behind her. The Nidoking had quite the opposite reaction to his masters words, he began to breathe quicker and heavier in excitement.

Blaziken let out an audible groan of disgust as the beast holding her in place inched its mouth closer and closer to her neck.

"Ha ha ha! That's the spirit Nidoking!" The man yelled, amused by the now helpless Blaziken subject to both him and his Nidoking.

The Nidoking moved his head in to Blaziken's neck, inches away from her, and inhaled deeply, taking in her scent, exciting him further. Blaziken began to struggle and pull away, an act like that was both disgusting and barbaric to her, it repulsed her to no end, this creature was nothing more than a heartless monster, just like its trainer.

"Get... off of me!" she yelled frantically to the Nidoking, as she struggled more and more violently, but to no avail, the creature was simply too strong. Though she couldn't move her body, she managed to throw her head back, and hammer it into the Nidoking's nose, causing him to stagger in both shock and pain.

The small impact did nothing but aggravate the Nidoking, who tightened his grip to a now painful pressure on Blaziken. It growled in a deep bass filled tone at her gesture of rejection towards his advances.

"Don't worry Nidoking," the man said, still with a sick smile on his face, "she just needs to learn her place!"

Upon saying the last word, the man whipped his weapon hand around, and slammed it into the right side of Blaziken's head, impacting her right in the temple. The cold hard metal of the gun cut though her skin, and instantly caused blood to flow from the wound. She let out a small cry of pain as she was struck, the hit made her vision rattle, and she began to become dizzy. The man had struck her dangerously hard.

She closed her eyes in pain, all she could feel was the warm blood flowing down her face. The sight of Blaziken being helpless and weak only aroused the Nidoking further, it didn't seem like he wanted to wait any longer.

He threw Blaziken onto the snowy ground violently, and stood before her. She landed flat on her back, and continued to clench her eyes shut. She hadn't the energy to escape or fight back, and she didn't want to see any of what was about to happen to her.

"Looks like he doesn't want to wait," the man said in amusement, "can't say I blame him,".

She didn't move, she just remained on the ground with her eyes shut, the thought alone of this Nidoking coupling with her was unbearably disgusting already.

"You got five minutes Nidoking," the man commanded his grinning Pokemon.

The Nidoking took a step forward towards Blaziken, her eyes still hammered shut, she couldn't bear to think of what the Nidoking was going to do. She wished she was back in her home with her mother and father, she wished she'd never had to fight this horrible man and his monstrous Pokemon, she wished...Iota were here.

That final thought confused her, she didn't know why she wanted Iota here, but she just did, he wouldn't let this happen, he could save her.

The Nidoking took another step closer, then another, savoring every moment that it would soon have with the beautiful Pokemon before him. Blaziken could her him getting closer and closer, she couldn't bear to open her eyes.

The sound of an impact filled the air. She the sounds of the Nidoking groaning in pain, and landing on the ground behind her.

She opened her eyes. She instantly looked up to see the Nidoking diagonal of her, laying face down the the snow, a small amount of blood coming from the back of its head.

The winds changed a third time. Smoke filled the air in front of her.

Blaziken's heart flew both in fear and of course, relief from the Nidoking being stuck, if whatever had attacked it waited only seconds later ... she didn't even want to think of what would have taken place.

She looked back before her to see whom, or what had come to rescue her, but the smoke had taken over once again, and whatever was there vanished into the smog.

The scarred man watched in shock as his Nidoking slowly picked itself up off the ground. The man looked back at Blaziken, who hadn't moved. There was no way that the Blaziken had done this to his Nidoking, she couldn't hit that hard. He continued to look around, cautiously aiming his weapon at any movement he saw though the haze. The Nidoking shook its head to try and recover from the hit, and stood back upon its feet. Nidoking was furious that something had interrupted his chance with Blaziken.

The smoke, though thinning, still made it difficult to see, his searching eyes finally locked onto a figure aside Blaziken in the shape of a man. He fired his weapon twice in a sheer panic. He saw the figure turn and and slide deeper into the smoke. He'd hit nothing but air, the figure had moved gracefully around his weapons fire. His heart rate picked up...he began to feel a sense of fear.

"N-Nidoking, go get...what ever the hell that was!" he barked, Nidoking nodded in confidence. Whatever had interrupted him before was going to pay with its life. The man saw the figure dash though the smoke once again, close to Nidoking.

"NOW!" the man screamed, pointing at where he saw the outline whatever was in the smoke. Nidoking turned and instantly saw his target, he was close enough to see though the fog, and he was more than eager to kill this new threat.

The Nidoking ran a few steps towards the man, and took a large, heavy, swing into the black smog at the figure. Nidoking struck nothing but smoke and air.

Iota could see everything. From the moment he'd entered the battle, and delivered the first blow to the back of the Nidoking's head, it seemed like everything was moving slower. Iota pulled his upper body away from the Nidoking, bending slightly backwards, and under the Nidoking's fist. To Iota, it felt like he was fighting an enemy who was underwater. Iota watched the Nidoking's arm sail inches above his face in amazement, everything had felt for the most part normal until he began fighting, now everything was moving slower and slower.

The instant Nidoking's fist passed over Iota, things resumed a normal flow of speed. The Nidoking moved normally again, and began another attack. The Nidoking swung its left arm now at Iota, as he brought himself upright from his first evasive move. As soon as Iota began to move around the Nidoking's second attack, things instantly slowed down again, like the the Nidoking was underwater again. Iota bended his torso forward and his head down, again, letting the fist of the Nidoking pass harmlessly above him.

To the Nidoking, it felt like his enemy was moving unthinkably fast. He'd never seen anything avoid his attacks with ease such as this man did.

As the Nidoking finished the second attack, and was unable to make contact, he began to grow more upset. The Nidoking threw a straight-barrel punch headed directly at Iota's head.

Iota found himself actually _-waiting- _for the Nidoking's attack. Iota had seen enough, it was time to fight back. Before the Nidoking could impact Iota, Iota grabbed the creatures arm, and stepped backwards, pulling the Nidoking's entire body towards Iota.

As the Nidoking's body grew closer, Iota pulled as hard as he was able, and drew back his arm. Iota continued pulling Nidoking's body closer, and slammed a devastating punch into the Pokemon's cheek. The Pokemon's direction of movement changed the moment Iota made contact, his body was knock off its feet by the impact. Iota could see it happening in a slow, slow pace, and saw the skin and bone of the Nidoking's face crack and tear in detail, he could hear the sick twisting and snapping of bones. Blood soaked the bandages on Iota's fist.

Iota followed though with his entire body weight as time resumed its normal dilation. The Nidoking slammed into the ground, its neck tilting at an unnatural angle.

The scarred man watched the thick cloud of smoke with clenched fists. He expected his toughened Nidoking to dispose of whatever this thing was quickly, Nidoking had a angry fire in its eyes the moment he was interrupted with Blaziken.

The man heard a groan, then the dull sound of a punch making contact. He grinned in relief, seemed his Nidoking had taken down this thing quicker than he had thought. He stood expecting his Nidoking to be out of the smoke shortly, with the limp body of the enemy.

The man's smile vanished as quickly as it came. Nidoking's limp body was thrown out the smoke, and onto the rough ground.

"Get up!" the man yelled to his Nidoking, who lay on the ground again, "You useless piece of shit! Get up!"

Nidoking was relentless in his effort to make this man into nothing but a bloody carcass. Nidoking had been hit hard, but wasn't down for the count, not yet. He stood back up, and let out a roar in frustration, then running back at Iota. Nidoking was frantic to make contact, punch after punch was delivered into the smoke, Nidoking mindlessly and blindly attacking.

Iota moved gracefully around the attacks, he moved like one would in a choreographed fight, it seemed to Nidoking that Iota could read his attacks before he made them.

Iota could tell by the simple body movements that Nidoking was making where he was going to attack next, Iota floated around the Nidokings fists, one after another. The Nidoking's fury was growing, if Iota attempted a counterattack now, he'd probably get hit one way or another, the longer he let Nidoking stay conscious the more dangerous things seemed to get for him. He didn't know what kind of damage his body could take yet, and would rather not find out his limits when there was someone to protect.

Nidoking threw a mindless angry right handed punch past Iota -- now was his chance. Iota grabbed the creature by wrist, and both rotated its arm, and brought it upwards. At the same time, Iota stepped in, and hammered his elbow downwards towards the forearm of the Nidoking's body. Before Iota made contact, he felt the odd sensation he felt back when he was in the city, he felt the metal inside him beginning to diffuse out.

The rough, metal alloy instantly covered his elbow as he brought it down upon the Nidoking's forearm. The force of Iota's impact combined with the added strength of the metal covering his elbow snapped the Nidoking's bones like twigs.

The Nidoking threw its head back and let out an intense roar in pain, his arm was bent upwards towards him, his dull white bones protruding from his skin.

Though gravely injured, the Nidoking struck again, a left handed strike this time, Iota moved beneath it and drew his arm back to impact the Nidoking once again. The metal on his elbow spread further, and covered his arm downward, enveloping his entire arm and shoulder in the rock hard alloy. Iota's metal covered knuckles slammed into the Nidoking's face, hitting him squarely in the nose. Bones broke inward, cutting though is body internally, and finally, shattering the frontal bone of the Nidoking's skull and impacting the Pokemon's brain, killing in instantly.

The Pokemon flew backwards onto the snow, arm distorted, body and mind dead. Nidoking's eyes were open, but his body was motionless, blood flow from his mouth.

The man looked back up to the smoke, still, he saw nothing.

The wind began to blow away the last traces of smoke, the fire covering the tree had burned itself out long ago, and a clear view of the battle field was beginning to be revealed.

Blaziken lay on the ground frozen, she hadn't the faintest clue as to what was happening around her, but assumed it would be better to remain still, though, she hadn't the energy to move even if she wanted to. As the smoke cleared out, she saw the broken and beaten body of the Nidoking laying dead on the snowy ground, its face covered in nothing but blood and bits of bone, she was half afraid, and half relieved at this sight, whatever was protecting her was something powerful.

Things were finally beginning to change for her, though she was still far from being saved, the scarred man still pointed a nervous weapon at the smoke. A voice in the back of her head asked her if this man could be Iota -- no, judging by how weakly he moved before, he'd never be able to take out a Nidoking like that, and beat it so severely, this must be some sort of Pokemon protecting her.

The smoke finally finished clearing out, and Blaziken cautiously lifted her weak head to to see the figurer who had helped her.

Though her vision was blurry from her battle, her eyes widened as they fixed upon the figure who'd just taken out the Nidoking. It was Iota.

He stood motionlessly as the last fumes of smoke whipped past him, his right arm totally encased in a hard, silver metal that seemed to diffused into his skin at the shoulder. That must have been what gave him his strength, that was what gave him the brute force to kill a Nidoking like that. After a few seconds, the metal began to diffuse back into Iota's skin, and his arm returned to normal.

Iota lowered his arm, and looked down at the severely injured Blaziken on the ground, they met gazes for a moment. His eyes were...different. They felt confident and proud, strong and triumphant, she'd never seen someone look at her the way Iota did now -- a combination of both concern and guardianship for her, and at the same time malice and judgement for the trainer who had done this to her.

Blaziken was unable to speak, though she was barely able to stay conscious, she wanted to say a million things -- She wanted to tell Iota how much it meant to her that he was protecting her like this, she wanted to tell him how scared she was before he came, and how helpless she felt, she wanted to have him take her away from this bloodstained battleground, somewhere where they could escape this horrible scarred man, and his Pokemon.

But most importantly, she wanted to hear Iota tell her everything was going to be okay.

Tears began to fill her eyes, but not out of pain, nor happiness and relief. Small lines of tears began to flow down her face, though she didn't know why she was crying.

She couldn't find any words. Blaziken's tear filled eyes stared into Iota's, and his into hers, for what seemed like forever. Finally, her focus was broken -- the sounds of the scarred man fumbling with his pistol caught her attention, he was frantically reloading.

The man dropped the empty clip in his weapon, and slammed another in, cocking the gun and aiming it straight for Iota.

She forced weak words out of her mouth and called out to her savior,

"Iota!"

Iota looked up to see the man before him. The man fired his weapon at Iota relentlessly. The sounds and lights of gunfire flashed before Blaziken, her heart nearly beat out of her chest watching the scene.

Iota instantly strafed forward as the man shot. The speeding hot slug sailed past him and into the blank winter wasteland behind him.

The man fired again, though Iota could see the bullet traveling slower than someone normally would, it was still not something he could avoid with any sort of ease. Iota dashed diagonally again, closing the distance between him and the man, Iota had to take him out before he could fire any more, if he was shot out here, he'd most likely bleed to death before he found civilization, and Blaziken would probably freeze to death in the snow.

The bullet missed again, the man was frantic now, he couldn't seem to hit his target. Perspiration ran down both his and Iota's face.

The man unloaded a large succession of shots at Iota, firing in succession one after another, after another. Iota stayed his course, and continued at the man, he wasn't going to stop for anything.

Iota was now with in a few feet of him, and before the man could, he sprang forward, closing the distance even further -- he had to strike now.

The man raised his weapon again, and placed the barrel of the gun a mere foot in front of Iota's chest, he'd never be able to dodge from that close a distance.

Before his finger was able to squeeze the trigger, Iota instantly reacted. In one motion, he clenched his fist, his flesh again covering itself with metal, and jaggedly struck the scarred mans weapon hand as he finished his stride running forward. The man immediately and involuntarily released his grip from the impact of Iota's hit. The man screamed in agony as nearly every bone in his hand was broken.

Iota stepped in, and swung his hand again into the scarred man's stomach. The blow forced all the air out of the mans lungs, rendering him unable to scream. His eyes widened, and he began to double over. The sound impact made a dull thud...then the sound of slicing flesh.

A long, slender blade suck out of the scarred man's back, blood and bits of bone dripping off the tip. Iota looked at the blade that stuck out of the man's back, he never expected something like_ -that-_ to happen.

"Y-You're...Yo-You're..." the scarred man struggled to speak, but before any more words could escape his lips, death enclosed upon his body, and he fell limp upon Iota.

Iota withdrew his hand, the blade following. The sounds of flesh being sliced again filled the air as Iota withdrew his fist, and subsequently the blade. Iota felt no remorse in ending this mans life, a monster like that didn't deserve to live.

The injured, or dead, Magmar's Pokeball was inside the SUV, the Nidoking was motionless on the ground, and their trainer had just been killed. The two men inside the car were now devoid of any sort of protection. Iota looked up, blood dripping off his hand, at the vehicle, and as he did, its tires rotated, and it sped off into the distance.

The danger of the situation now seemed to be over, and Iota looked down to examine his arm. The new developments in his body were strange so far, but he'd never seen anything like this before.

A metal blade, made of the same material that coated his arms, had formed and began from the wrist of his right forearm. He felt no pain from the blade sticking out of his skin, and he did not bleed...at least he didn't think he saw any of his blood, the scarred man's blood coated his arm quite heavily.

As Iota calmed down from the excitement of battle, the blade withdrew itself back into his body. Its bloody edges retreated back into his arm. As quickly as it came, it had vanished, the one thing Iota knew nothing about controlling in his body was the metal, and now with this new development, it seemed he was even further from understanding it.

Iota turned his focus back to Blaziken, who still lay on the ground, she was heavily damaged, and seemed to be on the fringe of unconsciousness. Though she looked worse for wear, nothing but relief and happiness filled her emotions. Iota payed no attention to the dead body of the scarred man beside him, and ran over to Blaziken, kneeling beside her.

He gently picked her up into his arms, and began to sit her upright. Her eyes began to flutter again and she struggled to open them.

"I--Iota, you came back," she said in a weak whisper, it was all she could manage at this point.

Her body was beaten and damaged, yet strangely, she never felt better in her life.

He opened his mouth to say something in return, but before he could, she finally subjected to her bodies injuries, and fell into unconsciousness. Iota closed his mouth, and remained silent. Iota cringed as an influx of pain caught him off guard. He clutched his side, and was instantly met by the warm temperature of blood flowing form him. He'd been hit by the man's weapon at some point, a bullet struck him in the left side of his torso, and passed though him. Blood soaked though his clothes, though Iota was more than willing to endure the pain mentally, his body might subject to the blood loss eventually.

Iota ripped a section of bandages from his arms, and tore a long piece off. He removed his old, battered shirt, and folded it into a small rectangle. He gathered a small amount of snow from the ground, and placed it on one side of his shirt, the cold would some of the bleeding. Iota placed the snow towards his wound, and the shirt on top of it, then he secured it to himself tightly by tying the long section of bandage around his torso. He cringed as he tied it tightly, he had to make sure he could survive long enough to make it to civilization somewhere -- for both him and Blaziken.

He gently picked her up, and carried her limp body in his arms. He cringed as he stood, blood began to flow though his shirt and bandage already. He stood facing the road, and began to walk. Though the Arctic weather on his bare skin caused him chills, the warm, natural body heat Blaziken gave off even when unconscious consoled him.

Iota put one foot in front of the other, and began to walk, Blaziken in his arms. Safety and survival lay somewhere before him, a wake of blood and death remained behind him.


	7. Chapter Seven: Resonance

A/N: Howdy.

So, I made myself finish this chapter tonight by midnight, (it's 11:55 right now) and I finally finished it. I played "Eye of the Tiger" while I edited the story, and managed to cram an additional 6,000 + words in while editing.

This has been by far the most work I've ever put into a chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. I -WILL- finish chapter eight by Christmas.

By the way, here's just an interesting idea... The song I mention in the first sentence of the story (The Lacrimosa), if you really want to get a feel for the atmosphere of the place where Dr. Michals works, I suggest you listen to it. It portraits the overall theme of the facility. Just search "Lacrimosa" on youtube.

Oh shit it's 11: 59, better stop typing and publish.

Enjoy.

Word Count ~ 16,866

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Chapter Seven: Resonance

The haunting sounds of Mozart's Requiem Mass projected though the office of Dr. Michals. Through out his years of life, there wasn't a thing he enjoyed more than this classical music -- so much so that even in a facility filled with the highest stature of technological advances, he still owned an old-fashoned antique record player. His favorite song, the Lacrimosa, from Mozart's Requiem Mass, was second to none.

Dr. Michals sat in an unusually tense position at his grand victorian oak desk -- which occupied the majority of the back wall of his office. His time to relax was running out. His personal office was one of the largest rooms in the facility for any staff member, and he rightfully deserved it. Dr. Michals was added to a number of projects at this facility though special request of whomever ran them. Dr. Michals never saw his higher-ups, and had no desire to find out who they were, they paid well, he was doing what he loved, and best of all, he had the ability to practice science, biochemistry, genetic research, and anything else he pleased without the confines of morality. He would at times feel more powerful than God.

Though, as with everything good, there were some risks. Accidents, contamination, death, and injury were all possibilities. But there was also the much more dangerous risk of...

(Subject_14)

...renegade experiments.

Dr. Michals sat with his back flat against his large, red leather desk chair, and idly fidgeted with his glasses clasped between his hands. His eyes floated around his office, and saw mostly blank space and books. Dr. Michals's had a bookcases utterly overflowing with everything from novels to encyclopedias covering every wall in his office, save for the wall with the door. He hadn't read most of them of course, he was far too busy, but he liked the atmosphere that they brought to his office. It made him feel like any knowledge he desired was before him. Besides the massive collection of thousands of books, Dr. Michals had two old, antique oak chairs opposite his desk -- for meetings and such -- and beneath him sat a genuine persian rug, one of his favorite items in his office.

His office was neat, precise, and organized, just how he liked it. The books were kept alphabetically on his shelves, and whenever he fancied to read one, he made sure to put it back in the exact same way. His office mirrored his personality -- sophisticated and exact. His desk was far from unkempt as well, everything he needed, pens, files, portable hard drives, or disks, all were arranged in either his drawers, or the small filing cabinet built into the lower part of the desk.

He appeared to be more working out of a small library than a doctor's office.

A computer sat atop Dr. Michals desk, on the far right side -- he'd hate to have the thing obstruct his vision. The computer was merely inches thin, and sat gracefully on top of a crane like neck to adjust the screen. Dr. Michals shifted his weight forward, and slid his chair closer to his keyboard. On the screen, nothing but information relevant to Subject_14 was opened. The first file on his screen resembled a mug-shot. it was Subject_14's picture, first from the front, then from either side, taken pre-Stage One.

This first image of Subject_14 was quite old, years old in fact. In the photo, Subject_14 had the stubble of an unshaven face, and an expression like that of a dead man, or a lost soul. His eyes were half open, it looked like it took all of his strength just to stand there. It was laughable how weak and gaunt he looked.

It intrigued Dr. Michals how different Subject_14 looked after Stage Seven. He looked somewhat similar to the man in the picture before him, but simply driven to madness. Now that Subject_14 was loose, he was too unstable to be ignored. Dr. Michals would occasionally replay the day of Subject_14's escape, and curse at himself for not taking more preventative measures. A subject under their control managed to escape the most advanced scientific facility in the modern world. It was just so...embarrassing.

Dr. Michals closed the first of Subject_14's files, and went over his Patient History. It read;

SUBJECT_14

Age: Unknown

Gender: Male

Height: 6"2'

Original Weight: 212 lbs

Weight After Alloy Construction: 252 lbs

Eye Color: Green

Birthplace: N/A

Location: Last seen in Stage Nine

Status: Missing

Stage One - Stage Nine History;

Stage One: COMPLETE

Organic Purification and Sterilization

(Details)

Stage Two: COMPLETE

Cerebellum/Cerebrum Reconstruction

(Details)

Stage Three: COMPLETE

Alloy Construction and Cellular Evolution

(Details)

Stage Four: COMPLETE

Biochemical Process Injection

(Details)

Stage Five: COMPLETE

Awake Blood and Tissue Transfusion

(Details)

Stage Six: COMPLETE

Awake Physical Remodification and Alloy Infusion

(Details)

Stage Seven: COMPLETE

Neural Regrowth

(Details)

Stage Eight: COMPLETE

Psychosomatic Synchronization

(Details)

Stage Nine: INCOMPLETE

Ascension

(No Details Available)

(Show All Details)

Damnit.

Stage Nine would have completed him. It would have made all their hard work pay off. It would have made him functional. Now, Subject_14 was wandering around aimlessly somewhere in the outside world as an incomplete wreck. It was imminent that he was returned, studied and then either completed or discarded. Either this or be killed before he fell into the hands of people on the outside world.

Subject_14 was their first success of Project_Crucifix. It was amazing they even got as far as they did with him. Dr. Michals knew that Project_Crucifix, if successful, would be the staple item of the facilities research -- both the most expensive, and the more promising. If he could even have one success he would completely surpass anyones expectations for the project. Others, such as Project_Armatus, had had many more successes than he, but just one living subject from Project_Crucifix would mean so much more. Dr. Michals was offered positions on numerous other projects as his failures with subjects increased, but he stayed with Project_Crucifix knowing that it would present the most challenges.

Because it was so very difficult, Dr. Michals had the best of the best doctors on his staff -- which was the beauty of it. He surrounded himself with the best in order to be the best. He lived for the challenge. Project Crucifix fulfilled his life -- he had became obsessed with its challenges.

Dr. Michals stood up from his chair. It was time. He was assigned to represent Project_Crucifix at the facility's collaborative trails. 'Semideus' as they were called, were only in session when there was a major problem -- and having a Subject outside of company walls was as major as they could get. The Semideus were high-tension, lifeless trials, filled with nightmarish men, aching to see the others fail. Though science was no competition, each project-head would love to see any project that did not benefit their own wither and die. They all strived to be the best -- their hearts were as cold as their souls, and Dr. Michals knew he just like them.

He'd been to only three Semideus meetings in his entire time working at the facility, each time, it meant the failure of a Project and the termination of the staff. A project could only fail when it met a cretin criteria -- The project had to be beyond repair in terms of relative success, and something of catastrophic proportions by human error must have occurred.

Dr. Michals knew from experience that when one was on trail at a Semideus, one could be found either Free or Condemned. When one was found Free, that worker was able to continue work on his or her project. Being found Free meant that there was still some hope for a success, and it was now your assignment to achieve that success. Being found Free negated all charges against you, and essentially started you with a clean slate.

However, if one was Condemned, their fate was far worse. Their labs would be purged, their data, burned, and their subjects discarded of. As for the staff -- every time Dr. Michals heard of a Condemnation being dealt upon someone, he had never seen those people in the facility ever again. Though he did not know what happened to them -- nor if they were alive or dead -- he surmised it was unpleasant.

Dr. Michals had been an Overseer for the two Semideus prior to his own, and had seen the three doctors on trial being found Condemned. When the verdict was read, their faces turned pale white, and their bodies turned numb with fear. He'd seen some who cried upon hearing their sentence, while remained silent and dignified -- whatever their reaction, they were escorted out of the room, and never seen by Dr. Michals or anyone again.

A Semidues could only be called into session when two-thirds of the Project-Heads and three-fourths of The Superiors consented to it. It was a process of review -- a chance for the doctor to defend himself before he or she was judged. The prior Semidues defendants were found Condemned in a matter of hours. These people who were on trail during Semideus were men and women of science, not law, and so had little idea of how to properly defend themselves.

Most nervously spat verbiage, and dodged the questions asked of them -- trying to pawn the blame onto others. However, it was the project that was judged, not the individual, so passing blame would never help your situation. Dr. Michals had seen where they had went wrong -- they tried to defend themselves rather than offering a solution. He would certainly hope to not repeat their mistakes.

Dr. Michals felt no remorse for watching his Co-Workers lead to condemnation -- he felt nothing. This time though, it was almost ironic. It was _-his- _trial, and _-his- _life.

If you were deemed a failure, you were considered useless by The Superiors of the facility. You were thus-forth expendable, and being that The Superiors wouldn't take the risk of the staff revealing any secrets about their Projects to others on the outside, Dr. Michals would never see these people again. The facility was always careful to make sure no secrets ever left the steel walls of the labs. All the data on the project was burned, except for one final copy of the results to be kept on record -- and only available to those with special clearance to study them for mistakes. Dr. Michals knew that he was the brightest mind ever to work here, as did the a number of other doctors. Hopefully they would realize it would be simply foolish to Condemn him.

Dr. Michals was aware that most of the other project heads had a general distaste for one another. Though they appeared to be pleasant when interacting, most of them would not hesitate in the slightest to stick a knife in the others' back. Though Dr. Michals was an asset to any project he worked on, the other project heads probably would not hesitate to eliminate him. His absence would simply mean less competition for them.

Dr. Michals worked in this hellish world. He did not even know the name or location of the facility he worked in. Yet, it was his life, and he enjoyed it.

As calm as Dr. Michals usually was, he found the skin on his brow perspiring with anxiety of the coming trial. His fret was not for his own sake though -- he wouldn't ever hesitate to make sacrifices for science -- but for the potential of Subject_14. He simply could not be excommunicated from the facility not knowing what could have been. The amazing and unique success that was Subject_14 could probably never be replicated again in his lifetime. He needed to be recovered.

"Dr. Michals," a female employee said, suddenly peeking her head in to his open office, "they're ready for you."

He looked up from his desk at the face of this unknown employee. She was an average young woman who simply served as an assistant to one or more of the project heads. He'd seen her before, but knew not her name -- she wasn't important enough.

"Yes, thank-you, my dear. I'll be on my way shortly." Dr. Michals responded in a polite and civil tone. "Allow me a brief moment to myself, please."

"Of course," she replied, withdrawing from the office and closing the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Dr. Michals sighed, and stood up. He waited for the song that was softly playing in the background, the Lacrimosa, strike it's final notes -- which it did beautifully.

The then room fell silent. It was time to go.

He wasn't going to leave the fate of Project Crucifix up to his competition to decide. Dr. Michals decided that he simply must succeed. He had to be found Free in order to finish his work. Even if he wasn't, and was found Condemned, he would find a way to recover Subject_14 though whatever means necessary. This was critical to Dr. Michals. His success in Subject_14 was everything.

------------------------------------------------------------

Ariston's vision began to focus as he awoke to the the steady sound of a constant beeping, one that was frequent and sharp. He began to narrowly open his eyes. His vision reacted unpleasantly and painfully to the bright lights in the room, but after the initial adjustment, his vision slowly began to drawn into focus.

His mind lazily played out effortless and unconscious thoughts though his head. He felt unusually rested and comfortable, along with absolutely no desire to raise himself up. For a moment he assumed that it was just another school day, and he'd awoke slightly before his alarm -- the familiar feeling of wanting nothing more than to sleep for just a little while longer passed over him. Ariston began to drift off into sleep again, but his body and mind were instantly awoken by a terrifying realization.

His heart jumped, and he frantically sat up -- instinctively looking around the room for any answers he could find as to where he was. As he rose himself, a sharp stab of pain hit him, causing him to wince in reaction. He could feel the acute stabbing pain coming from inside of his body, a foreign and sickening feeling to Ariston.

He looked down to inspect the source of the pain to find his right arm in an elongated navy sleeve that hung around his neck. Separate from that, his left arm was wrapped up and down with dull white medical tape. He awkwardly tried to move his arm that dangled in the sleeve, and as he gave it just the slightest of twitches, he was instantly forced to stop an unimaginable electric stabbing pain that shot from his collar bone down to the rest of his body. It was a brief, severe feeling, but it quickly passed as he stopped all attempts to move his right arm.

"What...the hell?" he whispered to himself -- still in a somewhat delirious state --in reaction to his seemingly broken collarbone.

He took a moment to drawn in his surroundings. Ariston sat in a bed, his chest hooked up to a heart monitor -- the source of the beeping that he so casually awoke to -- and an IV needle stuck in his arm hooked up to a bag above his bed. The walls were mostly plain a manilla-brown color with no features upon them. One wall contained a countertop that held numerous boxes and jars of medical supplies.

The speckled white and grey counter was against the back wall of the room, and contained a dull grey sink along with many other closed drawers and cabinets. Educational, though childish, posters hung around the room. Most were diagrams of parts of the human body, Ariston payed those little attention. Beside him was his heart rate upon a screen, and a large deal of medicinal equipment Ariston was unfamiliar with. The room was shaped as a brownish pained square, with glass windows on most of the sides, and a single brown wooden door on the wall adjacent to Ariston's bed.

Ariston felt the unsettling sense of fear crawl though his body once again. He hadn't as to how he had ended up in this hospital room.

Raising his seemingly functional, yet bandaged, left arm up to his face, he rubbed his eyes and began trying to grasp what exactly had happened the night prior. The last thing he remembered, he was in the City. Yet, now he was in a hospital bed with broken bones.

He astounded himself by how little he was able to recall from last night. In fact, he couldn't remember any details of the past night at all -- it was simply a blur in his memory. In his mind, he could remember what had happened leading up to him stopping in the street, but then a blank space with no memories at all. That was all he could remember between him then, and him now, in the hospital. Not being able to remember what must have been a major, and obviously dangerous event had began to frustrate him. Ariston couldn't understand how he could possibly have no memory of breaking his bones?

"Knock knock," a familiar male voice said, opening the bland door and entering the hospital room. "Looks like you're finally up, huh?"

Ariston instantly recognized the mellow face of Rorak, in his usual attire entering his room. Upon entering, Ariston saw just how beat up Rorak was too. He had a mid-sized, rectangular bandage on the left side of his face stretching down his cheek, and medical gauze wrapping around parts of his forearms. It was obvious to Ariston that Rorak had seen some pretty serious action last night.

With Rorak present, Ariston's memory began to return. He focused on the single reason he traveled to the city in the first place. Ariston could hear the frequency of the heart monitor beside him increase as panic began to set into his mind again.

"Rorak, what happened t--" Ariston began,

"Your friends, Shane and Conti? Totally unscathed, they evacuated with the majority of the civilians apparently... And come to think of it, are in better shape than you are. Good thing they got out though, last night got pretty hectic on both our ends, as you can see," Rorak continued, casually pointing to Ariston's broken appendage.

The frequency of the heart monitor returned to normal as the wash of calm passed over him upon hearing this news. Ariston could care less about his own broken up condition. He was just glad that no one, save for he, had been severely hurt. Knowing that Rorak, Shane and Conti were alive and well instantly washed away his fears.

"Heh," Ariston laughed, taking respite from his worried mind, "I guess something big happened to me last night.". Once again, Ariston focused his mind in an additional attempt to retrieve his lost thoughts. He paused for a moment, thinking deeply, but alas came up blank. Rorak looked up questionably at the silent Ariston.

"Something wrong? I though you'd be pretty happy to hear that everyone is, you know... alive," Rorak asked in his seemingly ever-present casualness.

"No -- I mean, that's great news," Ariston replied, giving up upon trying to remember, "but I honestly can't remember nearly... anything from last night.".

Rorak tilted his head slightly to one side and crossed his arms as he listened to the troubled Ariston.

"Not where I was, not who I was with, not even --" he said, pausing to motion to his broken shoulder, "-- not even how I got this. It's the strangest feeling. There's just... a blank space in my memory."

"I guess it could be some short term amnesia from the damage of the attack. Good thing they found you when they did, I think that yo--" Rorak suggested, only to be cut off.

"Wait... Did you just say attack? And... Found me? Who is 'they'?" Ariston asked, becoming even more concerned with his lost memories. Ariston began to feel heavy with concern for just how close he may have been to death. Rorak didn't seem to grasp the fact that Ariston couldn't remember a thing, and was skipping some quite important details.

"Well," Rorak began again, drawing his explanation back realizing Ariston hadn't the slightest clue as to what he was saying, "from what I've been told by the doctors outside, you were found underneath the business end of two pretty pissed off and mean-lookin' Absols -- who I'm guessing hadn't eaten in awhile, judging by the damage they did to you.". Rorak continued to speak at ease, leaning against the room's door. His tone was that of like a casual conversation about matters of little importance -- it was amazing to Ariston that despite the mortality and seriousness of the subject, Rorak remained unfazed.

"Holy shit," was all could Ariston manage to say.

"Holy shit is right," Rorak added, "you know, you gave the doctors here a pretty big scare, you came close to dying when they brought you in. Good thing they got you here quick too, you've probably been done for otherwise."

Ariston took a moment to himself and began to digest this information. He wondered, had he really escaped dying by so little a margin? Just moments ago, Ariston had been lying half-asleep comfortably in an anonymous bed and feeling relaxed. Yet probably just hours ago, he was only minutes from the morgue.

Ariston had never really though of death as a possibility on his journey throughout Sinnoh. Of course prior to Ariston leaving, his over-worried mother had frequently stressed about the danger of Pokemon attacks and battles, but Ariston never thought a terrorist attack would effect him. For the first time, Ariston began imagining himself in a world where death could be around any corner. He felt his chest muscles begin to tighten as a dark mordant fear crept over him again.

"But listen," Rorak said, exhuming Ariston out of his deep pool of thoughts, "that's all in the past now. You're alive and well -- uh, well, at least alive."

Ariston gave a genuine chuckle at Rorak's usual sense of emotionless humor. With just that, he returned to a relaxed, casual state of mind. Ariston wondered if perhaps Rorak had picked up on his anxiety and attempted to lighten his mood with his unusual sense of humor. Though Rorak's humor was quite mordant, Ariston found it very much amusing how Rorak was so casual about serous matters. At this point, Ariston's body continued waking up. He began to feel more and more sharp, sensitive sore areas around his body. He assumed them to be just muscle fatigue or bruises, and attempted to ignored them as much as possible as he talked to Rorak.

"Alright, well..." Ariston continued, trying to sake off the feeling of pain areas surfacing around his body, "can you at least tell me how I ended up with my arm like this?

"Well..." Rorak started, thinking carefully of just what to say, "...I'm really not too sure, I figured I could ask you that. I'm going to assume that it's a result of the Absols making your arm their buffet."

Ariston spat some unexpected laughter at Rorak's sarcasm once again. The action of laughing caused his broken arm to hurt, but he honestly didn't care. Ariston began to realize that Rorak was truly right in his logic. Whatever had happened, he, and everyone else had come out of it alive.

"So," Ariston began, wanting to change the subject from his injuries to something else, "what happened at the CMTRD after I left?"

The door of the hospital room opened once again, and immediately captured Ariston's attention. A young, female nurse sporting generic hospital attire entered the room, holding the door open as she did.

"Sir," she began, directing at Rorak, "it's not visiting hours yet, I'm afraid you'll have to leave,"

"Hmm?" Rorak replied innocuously, "Oh, of course, excuse me.,"

Rorak turned towards the door, and followed the nurse out of the room without saying anything else to Ariston. Though, the moment he and the nurse left, Rorak walked slowly in the opposite direction of her, and once she was out of sight, turned around walking towards the room again.

Ariston laughed quietly to himself as he saw Rorak though the windows of his room casually dodge nurses and walk back from whence he came. Rorak, after a few moments, finally entered once again, looking out the door behind him for any more nurses as he did.

"Anyway..." Rorak said, continuing where he left off. "We were able to take care of things on our end, for the most part anyway."

"What do you mean?" Ariston asked, hoping to get a little more exciting detail than that.

"They -were- pretty tough, I'll tell you that." he continued. "By the time we finally broke though their defenses and started putting pressure on them, whatever they were robbing from the CMTRD had been secured."

Ariston carefully watched Rorak as he spoke. Rorak's tone had changed slightly from casual to a more reluctant one. Rorak stood with his arms crossed, and his eyes locked on the floor -- Ariston could easily see that Rorak wasn't happy with the outcome he'd gotten last night.

"We got some of them, sure," he continued, "but there were just so many of them for us to handle. Way too many of them escaped for my liking, we just didn't have enough trainers to fight back. The ones we got are going to be interrogated by the Sinnoh Police soon, but...I really doubt they'll tell us anything. It's never been in their nature to willingly give up information, they never have before. So far, none of the ones we've captured have said a single word at all. It's like they're on mute, I guess it's just how they're trained."

As Rorak continued speaking his tone sloped from his usual easy-going persona and degraded further into sincerity. He sounded similar to when he spoke to Ariston on they way to the city the night before -- calm, yet strong.

"It's really weird, you know?" he continued, looking back up at Ariston, "It's like they're blank slates, just mindlessly following orders, and when we try to get information out of them, they just...shut down."

"Do you have any idea what they took?" Ariston asked, letting himself be intrigued by Rorak's story.

Rorak responded with stale laughter, "Even when the CMTRD -does- find out what was missing, I doubt they'll tell anyone but a few specific high ranking police officers. I'm pretty sure they don't like people to know what they've been working on. Besides, they're in enough trouble with the public -- people have started blaming them for the attack."

Rorak began to drift from his stern voice tone back to a relaxed one ever so slowly as he continued.

Ariston remained silent for a moment. He began visualizing the catastrophic destruction he'd seen nearly everywhere the night prior. Buildings destroyed, many Pokemon and their trainers lost their lives, and he was almost ripped apart by two Absols. It appeared that whatever Team Galactic wanted -- or needed -- they had stolen it, but...

"What could they possibly want so badly that they'd to this?" Ariston asked, continuing his internal monologue out loud.

Rorak shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine,"

Rorak, though appearing outwardly tranquil, was at war with himself on the inside. He'd wanted more than anything to stop Team Galactic from successfully stealing from the CMTRD. Rorak knew that no matter which way he thought about it, Team Galactic had succeeded, and he had failed. In the back of his mind, Rorak wondered if all those people and Pokemon had died for nothing.

"So, how much damage did Team Galactic do?" Ariston asked with genuine grief, breaking the small period of silence between the two. He was reluctant to ask the question, but wanted to stay informed.

"You mean the death toll?" Rorak answered bluntly, "Initial estimates on the news are upwards of 50 dead, and a hundred some wounded -- granted, it's not as bad as everyone feared, but pretty terrible nonetheless." Ariston sighed as he heard this -- so many dead and wounded for just one thing from the CMTRD. Ariston could solemnly not understand what could possibly be so important that people would kill mercilessly for it.

"The most casualties and injuries came from inside the blast zones, where the bombs went off. They causes some pretty major damage around the city, but as soon as the first one went off the evacuations had already began. Team Galactic members were spotted before anything was detonated, and people around those areas had been ordered to evacuate. Good thing too, it probably saved a lot of lives. I'm guessing most people were able to escape, just an unlucky few still got caught in the blasts. That, and a number of trainers were killed along with their Pokemon fighting Galactics."

"All that for just something in the CMTRD?" Ariston continued, the actions of Team Galactic at this point seemed inhuman.

"I'll tell you what, something from the CMTRD isn't just some valuable piece of technology, it's cutting edge stuff." Rorak continued. "Really, I don't have any idea what sort of stuff goes on in there. It's highly secured government contracted technology. I know for a fact that this wasn't just a robbery -- whatever they stole, they knew what it was, where it was, and took it for more purposes than money. The technology in the CMTRD is so secure, I don't have any idea as to how they could have possibly known where to look. I'll tell you this though, I don't think we've seen the last of these guys -- they're planning something bigger."

Rorak had fallen back into a grim tone as he explained. The prospect of Team Galactic returning -- now with the advantage of whatever they had stolen from the CMTRD -- was frightening to both Roark and Ariston alike. Both knew that Team Galactic alone was dangerous enough, but if what they stole was some kind of weapon -- they might be unstoppable.

Rorak glanced outside the room's windows as the two sat in silence, and saw the nurse that had kicked him out earlier approaching. His eyebrows raised as he watched her get closer.

"Uh oh, nurse is back. See you back in Oreburgh Ariston.." Rorak said quickly, instantly dropping his serious tone, and exiting the room in a rush. Rorak walked out of Ariston's room at the exact moment the nurse had turned the corner to see him standing there in plain view. just as the nurse turned to corner to see him in plain view.

Ariston saw the nurses face turn angry as she saw Rorak -- still here. Ariston laughed again as the nurse began an angry-paced walk following Rorak out of the hospital floor. Rorak escaped down the hall with the nurse in hot persuit behind him. Though Ariston laughed dryly at the situation, a part of him was still extremely preoccupied by what Rorak had told him. He'd escaped with his life last night -- but what about the next time he ran into Team Galactic?

Ariston was nearly exhausted from confusion and concern. He couldn't wait to get out of this hospital, and back to his Pokemon. He knew that he'd been extremely lucky this time, in that he and his friends had made it through alive. He knew it astoundingly stupid of him to come to the city in the midst of the attack, but he could take solace in the fact that he had done the right thing in his mind. He'd managed to dodge death this time. Perhaps he would not be so lucky in the future.

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Dr. Michals's hand sat motionlessly upon the handle of a plain brown door in a faceless hallway. His hand was unwilling to make any effort to open this door, though; the events that would soon take place on the other side would change his career, and life, forever. Dr. Michals knew that if he were to be found Condemned, losing control over Project Crucifix would be the least of his problems, yet strangely, seeing Project Crucifix through was all he cared about.

Dr. Michals liked to think of himself as an objective man of science, and although he'd been involved with a fair amount of scientific "explorations" throughout his life, he'd never become so attached to one like Project Crucifix.

Project Crucifix wasn't just a commission for him to work on, it felt much like an he was an artist that had chosen to keep a painting rather than sell it. Dr. Michals had grown attached to his work. Back during Project Crucifix's prime, he would stay up countless hours working nearly around the clock to perfect experimentations, he couldn't stop himself from working, he found just the prospect of Project Crucifix so fascinating that every moment he was able to work felt like a privilege.

Though he failed numerous times, and he had lost Subjects One through to Thirteen, he still felt successful. Journeying to the edge of science, raising the bar for groundbreaking work, and pushing the limits of both himself and all those around him was success enough for him. Project Crucifix demanded that he and all those who worked on it be inerrant at all times. The smallest mistake could cause catastrophic failures, mutation, contamination, or any number of nightmarish things.

Dr. Michals wondered, perhaps, if the attachment for his work stemmed from within him. Perhaps it was because that he knew something like Project Crucifix was eons out of his league, yet somehow, he managed to make undeniable progress -- and not only progress, but success. The success of one subject surpassed both his and his peers highest expectations for Project Crucifix. The project was mainly to collect data, for future experimentation. A success was never anticipated or expected from Dr. Michals, and that feeling -- the feeling of superiority -- was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

Though the success of Subject_14 was a breakthrough, the failure to enter Stage Nine technically made him incomplete. Dr. Michals realized that in the eyes of everyone but he, Subject_14 wasn't a success in the slightest, but a now renegade failure.

The feeling was crushing... to go from being on top, surpassing everyones expectations, and being regarded with the utmost respect, to a failure, now on trial for his life. Dr. Michals wanted to fix the mistakes made, retrieve Subject_14, and resume work on him -- if only they'd provide him with the proper resources to do so. He simply knew that he would be able to recover Subject_14. Ever since the moment he escaped, Dr. Michals had been toiling over methods of recovery. He felt obsessed; it was like he had been working puzzle missing only a single piece that was then taken from him at random. The sense of incompletion nearly drove him mad at times. The long hours of his mind-splitting work, his genius methods, and his glorified creations had all been lost in vain. The very thought of losing his work made his skin burn with regret and anguish.

Though it was too late for anything to change now. Dr. Michals was enveloped in regret, a feeling he hated himself for.

"Argh," he moaned audibly, disgusted with himself.

Just the thought of feeling so foolish and helpless was enough to boil the blood in Dr. Michals veins. He would not let the feeling repeat, especially in his Semideus. Dr. Michals didn't know anything for certain, but if he was lucky, he'd be able to convince the judges of the Semideus that the remaining team working on Project Crucifix should be focused on finding Subject_14. If he was lucky, he'd be able to be a success again.

Dr. Michals had wasted enough time. He pressed ever so lightly on the door handle, letting the dull metal inside the door release, and pushed. He was instantly greeted by a benumbed darkness, the faint glow of desk lights shined somewhere in the distance. Dr. Michals looked at the path before him with a steady heart. The door was open, now he just needed to walk though it...

After a few grinding seconds, Dr. Michals walked into the dark room, letting the door creep shut behind him. He was past the point of no return; it was time to stand trial.

"Dr. Michals, come in," a male voice spoke comfortably from somewhere off in the room, "you're right on time. Please, have a seat."

Dr. Michals knew this voice, and recognized it almost immediately. Being as this person was the first to speak, he was probably the Judge of this particular Semideus.

As Dr. Michals knew, he would stand trial before five independent project heads, four of which would be Overseers, and the fifth being the final Judge. Overseers would decide on the case, converse amongst each other as to what the verdict should be, and finally submit their vote to the Judge. The Jude only voted in the event of a tie between the four Overseers, meaning he or she would make the final decision. The four Overseers would not question the doctor on trial at any point; that was strictly under the Judges authority. The Overseers would wait, listen, and discuss amongst themselves. Therefore, it was up to the Judge to lead the line of questioning.

Unfortunate, considering whom it was.

Dr. Michals made his way to the defendant's stand -- a bland, monotone black metal octagon that was slightly raised off the ground. Stretching from the octagon, a raised podium that extended halfway around the raised section of floor. The black octagon, along with the podium, were lined with a dull, purple LED light surrounding their trim. The lights of the podium filled the room with the flat buzzing of lightbulbs, breaking the otherwise congealed silence. The path leading to the defendant's stand was as indistinguishable as anything else in the room. As dark as the ceiling as the lights were, Dr. Michals was only able to see his stand, and the judges bench across from it. His stand seemed to shine out as a beacon in the room, it symbolized a false haven from the darkness, almost welcoming Dr. Michals to come.

Dr. Michals cautiously stepped onto the raised octagon, and rested his hands on the podium before him, staring at the Judge's Bench. The Judges Bench shot straight up from the ground, and split into two lengthly halves. The Judges Bench appeared to be a large, raised desk for both the Judge and Overseers by the way it was crafted. Dr. Michals assumed that the Overseers desks sat an unnecessary six feet off the ground to try and force some factor of intimidation and inferiority to the doctor on trial.

Dr. Michals scoffed at that. He wasn't in the least bit intimidated by the five doctors sitting atop the Judge's Bench. They were all co-workers, no different from he or anyone else.

The Bench was highest in the center, where the single Judge of the trial sat. From there, it symmetrically stretched backwards, slightly depressing at an angle. This would be where the Overseers would reside, two on each side of the Judge. The Judge's bench was essentially a horizontally stretched "V", made of the same black metal, and line with the same LED lights as the defendants stand. All the theatrics of this room felt unnecessary to Dr. Michals, but however pointless, it did create a ferocious atmosphere.

Dr. Michals stood before his peers. These people were in no way his superiors; the fact that he was to be judged by them was just foolish. Dr. Michals strained his eyes to read the small, engraved metal nameplate in front of the Judge sitting tall at the bench. His suspicions had been accurate; Dr. Michals knew he had recognized the voice.

"Shall we begin then, Dr. Laverd?" Dr. Michals asked, with a hint of condescendence. "I'd hate to waste your time, after all."

"Of course," he replied, in his stern, concrete voice, "Semideus hearing A 047Y, hearing defendant - Dr. Michals and his staff - will begin Immediately."

To an outside observer, it would appear that Dr. Michals and Dr. Laverd were on good terms -- friends even -- but their occasional pleasantries and cooperation with each other was nothing more than a false mask. Dr. Laverd was the head doctor of Project_Armatus, which much to Dr. Michals disgust was quite possibly the most successful project to date. As long as Dr. Michals had worked with Dr. Laverd at the Facility, he's seen him as not only a bitter, straight-laced co-worker, but also his toughest competition, and his enemy.

For as far back as Dr. Michals could remember, the moment he had gotten a success, Dr. Laverd would outshine him almost instantly with a breakthrough of his own. Always, Dr. Michals would create something breathtaking, while Dr. Laverd would create something unbelievable. The prospect drove him mad.

Dr. Michals knew exactly why this happened; it was the two different ways they worked. Dr. Michals strongly felt that each doctor in his group was responsible for his or her own creations, successes, and failures -- much of the reason he accepted responsibility for Subject_14 -- and when a doctor under him made some sort of discovery or success, the credit was theirs, and theirs alone.

Dr. Laverd, however, was more of a linear man. Dr. Michals had seen him work with other doctors before, and it was clear that Dr. Laverd felt that the Project Head was the infallible superior of the Project. Dr. Laverd acted as if all things regarding the projects success happened because he catalyzed it. Therefore, if someone under him succeeded, he would immediately believe it to be his own -- the doctors under him being virtually left out of any credit. Dr. Laverd worked as if nothing could happen without him, as if he was the singularity of all the workers around him. He believed that every single success was simply due to him.

Dr. Michals would frequently be disgusted at this territorial, childish attitude; he'd never degrade himself by claiming work that wasn't his. Dr. Laverd even physically represented his personality of a plain, cold man. He had an almost completely shaved head with stubble of blonde hair remaining, and dark lifeless brown eyes. Even though Dr. Laverd would 'loosely' acquire success, he was no fool. Much of his success was truly from his work alone, and brilliant work it was. Sometimes, even, Dr. Michals would struggle to understand the unusual methods that Dr. Laverd pursued in his work.

Dr. Michals likened Dr. Laverd to much like a filing cabinet with all the information that he could retain and memorize. That was the one skill that Dr. Laverd far surpassed Dr. Michals in -- the ability to retain and understand all sorts of information. Just a simple run-though of a cutting-edge new procedure, and Dr. Laverd would suddenly pick up on it like he'd been studding it for years. The man could piece parts of completly different operations, equations, and medical procedures to produces astounding new ones. Dr. Michals, though reluctant to admit it, was impressed by this keen perspicacity of Dr. Laverd.

Perhaps a weaker man would fade in the colossal shadow of Dr. Laverd, but not Dr. Michals. If there was one thing that crawled under his skin, and twisted his nerves, it was being second best. Dr. Michals would sometimes work double the time Dr. Laverd would, to get the same amount of progress done, just so he wouldn't be left behind. He would stay up for many sleepless nights trying to better himself over Dr. Laverd. If he couldn't be naturally better, he'd simply work harder.

And it worked. The fruits of Dr. Michals work came rarely, but gratuitously when they did. Dr. Michals would sometimes outshine Dr. Laverd for months. The most enjoyable events in these times of success came though subtle psychology and innuendo hints in his everyday speech with Dr. Laverd. While appearing outwardly pleasant, Dr. Michals would rub his success in Dr. Laverd's face. But alas, there was a converse. Dr. Laverd would do the same whenever he had a success greater than Dr. Michals. This back-and-forth pseudo war between them is perhaps why they silently loathed each other as they did. The two had never a single argument, they would vigilantly remain pleasant to one another, always friendly, but silently thinking the worst of their despised enemy. Whenever the two were together, a thick cloud of antipathy surrounded both. Only the two truly knew how much distaste they had for each other.

Dr. Michals was fully aware that this behavior was petty -- pointless even -- but as Dr. Laverd shared the same extreme distaste for being second best, it was perhaps the only way they could work in the same building without resorting to tearing each other's throats out.

Dr. Laverd cleared his throat as he prepared to dictate, "Please, state your names for the official record," he began.

"Dr. Alvis, Overseer number one," a female doctor said from her position on the bench,

"Dr. Isaeus, Overseer number two," a deep-voiced, aged African-American doctor stated,

A brief momentary feeling of relief passed though Dr. Michals mind. He ha'd gotten lucky on the first two Overseers. While he didn't know them personally, Dr. Alvis and Dr. Isaeus were both competent and intelligent individuals, which was quite a compliment coming from the mind of Dr. Michals. Dr. Alvis was a rather young, attractive female doctor who would usually act friendly when she wasn't working -- though when she was, she was as emotionless and as cold as stone. She wore the attire of a usual female doctor; white coat, high-heeled shoes, flimsily glasses, and of course, her neck-length brown hair that was pulled up, tied and out of her face.

Dr. Isaeus was more of a mysterious person. He was much older than Dr. Michals, and had distinctive a faded, white-grey goatee that gave him an intimidating and seasoned appearance. He was a taciturn of a man, and always seemed to be thinking to himself rather than verbalizing what ideas came to him. He had worked at the facility for a great time longer than either Dr. Laverd or Dr. Michals. Dr. Iseaus was probably one of the most experienced doctors on staff. Dr. Isaeus gave off the appearance and personality of someone who'd seen enough in their lifetime to understand the position Dr. Michals was in now.

Rather than being spiteful and conniving, thus working only to have his work Condemned, he expected that both Dr. Alvis and Dr. Isaeus would made just decisions. Perhaps they would even offer him some shred of kindness in their judgement.

"Dr. Cronus, Overseer number three," another man announced from the other side of Dr. Laverd,

Dr. Michals didn't know much about this man, unfortunately. He did know that Dr. Cronus was one of the facility's prominent physicists, and so not usually involved in medical work -- much of the reason Dr. Michals wasn't familiar with him. He wasn't sure about the mindset of this doctor however, as was from a totally different wing of the facility, and probably wasn't as informed about Project Crucifix as Dr. Alvis and Dr. Isaeus would be. Dr. Michals wasn't able to visiualize Dr. Cronus's face from the few times that he'd seen the man, and as he sat in the lowlight of the trial room, it made him an anonymous identity to Dr. Michals. This one's judging would be a gamble.

"Dr. Pollux, Overseer number four," the final, male doctor said,

Dr. Michals narrowed his eyes as the sound of Dr. Pollux announcing his name. He being the fourth Overseer was certainly not the outcome he'd hoped for. Dr. Pollux was a highly educated expert on Astronomy, a field that was almost entirely useless for most projects. However, he also had received his Medical Doctorate in Pathology -- the reason he was a member of the facility. The man did not have a highly desirable job. He was essentially the facilities' coroner. It was the job of Dr. Pollux to figure out what exactly went wrong on dead or failed subjects. He would also frequently suggest advice or alternatives on how to improve on the next attempt. The reason Dr. Michals disliked him being the fourth Overseer was because he felt almost certain that the man, being so analytical and unfeeling, would vote against him. Dr. Michals had seen this effect before, dealing with the dead constantly somehow drains the life and emotion out of most sane humans. Dr. Michals expected Dr. Pollux to show no sense of emotion towards Dr. Michals. After all, the man had all the warmth and emotion of a glass of water.

"And of course, Dr. Laverd, Judge," he said, raising his arms ingloriously as if to present himself. "Let us begin."

------------------------------------------------------------

2,523 steps Iota had walked.

He kept count after each step he took in order to distract himself from both the unconscious female in his arms, and the bloody rags tied around his injured side. Although injured, he walked powerfully though the snowy wasteland as if he felt no pain. Strangely, Iota could manage to keep himself focused enough to ignore the stabbing, cutting feeling in his side though sheer power of his will alone. His entire being felt like it was working in unison with his mind. Iota could physically feel his thoughts gracefully flowing through his mind. It was almost as if the gears were finally turning for him. He was in control for the first in as far back as he could remember. He enjoyed the power to manipulate his thoughts to strengthen his body. Iota instinctively knew -- the mind controls the body, and he controlled his mind. Iota focused on blocking out any pain on his body, and thought about nothing else. Though he had scores of unanswered questions as to who -- or what -- he was, he kept focusing on simply continuing to walk forward.

2,527...2,528...2,529...

There'd been nothing since he had begun walking; the tundra where he traveled sported no distinguishable landmarks of civilization, no trails to follow, nor sights in the distance. There was nothing but the cold, heavy snow every step he took forward, his foot sank quickly into the deep powder -- making a muffled, compacting crunch as he did. The frigid powder buried his foot, and crept up to his ankle when he would step. Not having a way finite path to follow, or any plans as to where to go, he walked towards the sunset. This way, at least Iota knew that he was traveling west.

2,541... 2,542... 2,543...

Surviving this harsh environment was easier than he'd expected it to be. Walking with a gunshot wound and carrying Blaziken did not seem like an easy prospect, but his body seemed to have reacted to the threat of battle, and strengthened because of it. He shouldn't have been even able to stand, yet his muscles were strong, his breaths were full, and his vision was clear. He couldn't say as to why this was even possible, but whatever it was, he knew positively that something had switched on inside of him during the exhilaration of battle. As his conscious mind focused on the count of steps taken and suppressing pain, his subconscious asked him questions. Just what exactly had happened to him during his battle? Could an 'event' like the one that had killed the poacher happen again unintentionally? Iota paid no care to nature of his actions or whom he had fought, as he was not concerned about these things in the slightest -- he was curious.

2,566... 2,567, 2,56--

Suddenly, something caught Iota's eye. a small blur of an object other than snow appeared out in the distance. This foreign object immediately took his attention and focus away from his tedious task of counting paces. He continued forward towards it, increasing his pace in hopes to find respite from the unfeeling cold.

Bitter winds contacted his torso, flowing over the lightly colored crucifix shaped scar on his chest. The wind chilled his body, but the off-tone crucifix on his chest was at the moment the only part of his body that seemed to feel any pain. The gunshot wound on his side had long since gone numb, and he was able to focus himself to alleviate any pain he felt there -- though he could no do the same for the mark on his chest. The bleeding from the wound had stopped, but ever since he'd woken up -- outside form wherever he'd been created -- he had constantly felt an eerie wisp of pain there. Nothing unbearable, but ever-present.

The object in the distance grew larger, and Iota began to make out the rigid structure of what appeared to be a run-down, gray house. Iota moved closer still, and began to get a clearer picture of what he saw in the house looked like it had been just withstanding blizzards for decades -- and just barely made it though each one. It was certainly not idea for Iota nor Blaziken, as it wasn't the ideal place to seek shelter. Though the presence of a home, even one as run down and old as this, did mean he was getting closer to civilization. It was a pleasant turn of events for Iota.

The 'house' had looked like it was abandoned quite a long time ago judging by its deterioration. It appeared to be barely able to stand at this point, but it was a lucky place to find out in the middle of the arctic wilderness. Iota wasn't going to pass this by. He didn't care whether someone was currently living there or not -- as unlikely as it seemed -- he was going inside to stay regardless, until he recovered.

Iota was finally close enough to see the house in detail. It was a two story house with an irksome, pale grey finish to it -- one that had been worn away over the years. Boards lay limp and tiresomely from the the walls. The porch and its respective black overhang appeared to be ready to collapse at any given moment. The windows were nearly all broken, the roof was populated holes -- as did many of the floorboards upon the porch. There was some fragments of a banister around the porch, but it was mostly broken, plain brown wood that lay loosely on the ground. The window shutters were painted a deadening white color that had been chipped away at by the cold throughout the years. However much an eyesore this place was, it was the best that he and Blaziken could hope for.

Iota placed his cold-numbed foot upon the first step of the featureless, broken porch to the house. The boards beneath him gave an unwelcoming creak as he did so. Cautiously, Iota began to make his way up the few steps and onto the porch. Every bit of wood below him seemed overly eager to give way, and break -- Iota did not pay it any attention. He wanted to just get inside and out of the weather before either he or Blaziken froze to death. She still remain limp in his arms unconsciously. Her body, as she was a fire Pokemon, provided him with a subtle, pleasant warmth as she pressed against his body. Her head was tiled aside, and her eyes remained shut. Hopefully, once Iota let her recover inside, she would finally awake.

Continuing onward, Iota approached the entrance to the house. The front door was the same deadened color as the rest of the house, and looked unstable at best. Walking conservatively over the frail floorboards, Iota advanced to the door -- he became increasingly eager to escape the wrath of the winter. Disregarding whether the door was locked or not, Iota shifted his weight to one side, and raised his right leg -- forcing the door open with a stiff, rigid kick. Blaziken stirred in Iota's arms at the sound of old, rotten wood cracking upon the homes' rusted frame, but she remained unresponsive. Splinters fell quickly to the ground as small bits of wood broke off around the rusted locks -- even a child's strength would have been sufficient to break down the weak door.

Iota's lunges were filled with what seemed to be decades of dust and neglect from the interior of the house. He coughed, which shook his damaged, cold body down to its core. He forced himself to quickly shake off the feeling, and began stepping into the cloud of dust that greeted him at the entrance of the house.

He waited for a moment, and listened. Considering no one had yet screamed or raised alarm to his rather unorthodox way of entering this building, he assumed that he and Blaziken would be the only residents currently in this house. Stepping inside, the familiar feeling of an unstable flooring returned to his senses.

Dark as it was, the small portion of light that flowed in though the windows provided just enough illumination to scarcely see. Peeling grey walls which looked painfully old populated the majority of the building. The only features in the room seemed to be two couches arranged perpendicularly to one another in an essential "L" shape aside the left wall, and what appeared to be an long, brown colored antique lamp aside those. Iota couldn't see further into the house -- the lack of daylight inside made it rather difficult at the moment.

Walking cautiously once again, he made his way through the dust-ridden air to the horrid looking, torn-up grey couches in order to finally lay Blaziken to rest. He took his final steps into the room, and gently, albeit eagerly, laid her down upon one of them. His breaths became heavy with relaxation as he loosened his sore muscles from carrying her. He was relieved to be somewhere with shelter finally, and could begin recovering from his battle. He may have been sore, bloody, and exhausted, but there was a feeling within Iota he couldn't deny. He felt good. He loved the thrill battle gave him, and the response his body had to it. Though it was exhilarating, the adrenaline had long passed. He looked forward to resting.

Laying down himself on the second couch, for the first time in quite awhile, Iota began to finally relax his body and mind. Before he could even realize he was tired, he was deeply asleep.

------------------------------------------------------------

"Nothing at all huh?" Shane asked yet again.

Ariston let a sigh escape, "Nope, not a thing."

Both Shane and Conti had been pestering him about what had happened to him the night before since the moment they left the Jubilife City hospital. Since Ariston's injuries were not life-threateningly severe, he'd been 'politely' hurried by the hospital staff out of his recovery room to make space for the large inflow of other, more urgent patients.

Ariston met up with Shane and Conti not long after he left outside of the increasingly busy hospital. Shane and Conti had managed to escape the night before with only minor scratches and bruises from the mob of evacuees -- nothing nearly as severe as Ariston's broken collar bone.

As happy as he was to be in the company of his friends again, Ariston didn't really want to waste any more time being so far away from his Pokemon who were still in the hospital back in Orebrough. After a short reunion between them, the three decided to head over to the City's east exit with Ariston as he left. Shane and Conti were most likely going to head home to Sandgem, their parents were probably incredibly shaken by the attack.

"Well that's too bad... It sure would have been cool to hear how you got all beat up like this." Shane replied, in a jokingly sadistic way. "Conti and I got the hell out with the majority of the civilians after the first bomb went off." Shane was back to his usual, calm self as he spoke. It was refreshing to Ariston to see his friends in a normal situation again.

"Hell, I called you to say we were going to be heading towards Orebrough to avoid any more danger... guess you didn't quite get that message."

Ariston laughed at himself in pity upon hearing this, "Yeah, I guess not."

"Next time, how about you try and keep in mind to -not- go to the city that's under terrorist attack?" Shane asked sarcastically.

"Trust me, I admit -- it was pretty stupid. I wasn't really, you know, thinking much at the time -- I just sort of acted," Ariston replied in a light-hearted attitude. The more he thought about it, the more he realized just how big of a stupid move going to the city was. He'd been away from his injured Pokemon for almost a full day now, and nearly gotten himself killed. Though, despite this, Ariston still felt he did the right thing.

Shane, Ariston, and Conti all walked in a line down one of the cold streets of Jubilife City. The streets looked the same as they always did for the most part -- tall buildings, dull colors, a pungent city stench, and the unpleasant noise of traffic -- but due to the attack, they'd been forced to take a number of detours down different streets to reach the east exit.

They three had been walking for a little under an hour towards the east exit -- a walk that would have taken half the time if they weren't forced to avoid so many closed and damaged streets. During this time, Ariston was finally able fill Shane and Conti in about the recent events in Orebrough -- His battle with Rorak, his Turtwig, and most importantly of all, his new Riolu. The two reacted in a mild sense of awe at the large amounts of good news Ariston had, jealously even.

"Have you heard anything about Rorak?" Shane asked, with a very slim undertone of excitement in his voice.

"What do you mean 'heard anything'?" Ariston replied curiously. He'd been with Rorak both last night and earlier at the hospital, he wasn't quite sure what exactly Shane meant.

"I heard he had an -insane- battle with Team Galactic members at the CMTRD." Shane continued. "I don't know many details about, but a lot of people around the city are calling him a genius for the way he fought last night. I wish I could get the full story... maybe you can get him to fill you in when you get back to Orebrough."

"Yeah..." Ariston replied, slightly taken aback by this. "I was only there with him for a couple minutes, but left before I saw anything really happen."

Ariston paused to think for a moment. It occoured to him that even though he was really in the center of the action last night, he hadn't a solid guess as to what happened. Even going by what Shane had told him, Ariston found it difficult to imagine what Rorak could have done to warrant such a response from people. Hopefully he could have some questions answered when he got back to Orebrough.

"So what now?" Ariston asked, changing the subject. "You guys gonna head back down to Sandgem?"

"Yeah," Conti said in a depressed tone, "with Team Galactic out like this, it's probably safer not to stay in the city any longer."

Something in Ariston's subconscious flickered upon hearing this. It wasn't what Conti had said, it was how he said it -- he sounded depressed. Conti is -never- depressed. In fact, Conti had been silent for the majority of the time they'd been walking. Shane was the one who told Ariston all about their evacuation, Conti was practically a mute.

Ariston dismissed the thought as the east gate became visible upon the street they traveled on. A part of him was annoyed that he had to make the walk to Oreburgh for the second time in two days -- but another part was happy that he was even able to walk at all after what he'd been though.

"Can't wait to walk all the way to Orebrough...again..." Ariston said to himself under his breath as the three stopped at the cities edge. It was a peculiar place they were at -- the tall buildings of the city seemed to slope down into open space as they moved beyond the city limits. The city looked like nothing more than a jungle to Ariston from here -- he was glad to be back out into open space.

"Well, good luck with everything," Shane said as he waved goodbye, and turned to being walking back, "try and don't get yourself killed... or at least mauled by Absols again."

Ariston gave a laugh at Shane's sarcastic sense of humor, "Yeah, I'll give it a try."

"See you later, Ariston, good luck with training," Conti said, somewhat devoid of his usual infectious energy.

"Later you guys," he replied. Shane and Conti turned around, as did Ariston. They all began walking towards their new destinations.

Shane still acted the same, his usual calm self, but Conti seemed curiously different. It occurred to Ariston that perhaps just the sheer chaos of the attack had rattled Conti's mindset. Maybe it was just traumatic stress -- he'd by lying if he said he wasn't slightly shaken up by what he saw last night.

The path back to Oreburgh wasn't exactly fun to walk, especially with a broken collar bone. Perhaps when he did get back though, and reclaim his Pokemon from the hospital, he could pay a visit to Rorak and get some information as to what happened. From the short while he spoke to him in the hospital, Rorak didn't reveal much about what had happened. Ariston didn't imagine Rorak as they type of person who brags, but gauging by what Shane said, there must be some sort of major story worth telling.

Ariston began walking down the familiar dirt trail that he had traveled on once again, and breathed in the fresh, open air of Route 203. Sure, he'd made this long walk before, but it was a beautiful hike. Route 203 was a wonderfully simple area that Ariston genuinely admired for its tranquility. The path to Oreburgh was almost all open fields that stretched into the horizon both ways with just a single pathway though. So long as he avoided straying off the trail, it'd be unlikely that he'd run into any sort of wild, hostile Pokemon on his way to Oreburgh.

It was a common misconception that non-trainers had to think that wild Pokemon were a sure thing when traveling any of the numerous Routes of Sinnoh. Ariston found it amusing to reminisce about listening to people in his hometown talk about wild Pokemon, and how frightful they were of them. Ariston would be -lucky- to run into anything strong in the wild.

Ariston continued walking though the peaceful fields of Route 203, and finally began to enjoy some time to himself. He let his mind wander back to his Gym battle with Rorak, and the insane thrill that brought to him. He couldn't wait to reunite with his Pokemon and begin training once again. Even though it had only been a few days, he missed being around them.

Turtwig, Buizel, and Luxio would all be great to train, but Ariston couldn't deny that he was most excited about Riolu.

Riolu...

Ariston remembered how she looked as he left her in his hospital room yesterday -- she looked terrified. For this moment, Ariston almost felt guilty for relaxing on his way back to Oreburgh while Riolu must be twisted with anxiety for his safety. Ariston was thankful that Riolu couldn't read, otherwise she would have figured out what he had written on the note before he left.

Ariston still remembered verbatim what he wrote in a shaky, nervous handwriting:

'To whomever reads this, Noah Ariston has gone to Jubilife City for an emergency. If I do not return in the next 72 hours, please be sure to release my Luxio, Buizel, and Turtwig back into the wild of Route 203... somewhere they'll be able to return to their natural habitat. As for Riolu, she will not be able to survive on her own, find her a loving home elsewhere in the city.

Thank-you,

Noah Ariston'

He'd been in such a rush before he didn't realize how what he wrote sounded so much like a last will and testament in the event of his death. Ariston figured that the sheer trauma of almost losing his life last night didn't really impact him in a major way yet. He couldn't remember almost anything from last night -- which was still quite frustrating. Perhaps he would be more disturbed at the moment if he could recall what caused him his injuries.

"Heh," Ariston laughed audibly to himself. Showing up with cuts on his face, arms and legs, and a broken collar bone to top it all off might give Riolu a heart attack. It was funny to him, he had known Riolu for a very short time and already she was so connected to him. Sometimes when thinking about her, Ariston would even forget that they'd only just met.

Ariston didn't mind his injuries much at all. He knew he had done the right thing in going back to the City -- wounds would hurt, but an unclear conscience would pain him even greater. He was more concerned of how Riolu would react to his damaged state than his actual injuries. Though, it was nice that the doctors loaded him up on painkillers before left the hospital.

Before Ariston knew it, Oreburgh City was peaking over the horizon once again -- the walk had gone by quicker than he expected it to. He began to see houses around him that lay on the outskirts of the city, and ever so slowly, the return of the familiar city stench. Ariston finally removed his foot from the dirt trail of Route 203 and back onto the pavement of Oreburgh City streets. He was finally back after a hell of a night.

Ariston walked past the familiar buildings of Oreburgh City, but wasted no time taking in the sights. He'd been down this way before, the generic buildings were nothing out of the ordinary. He quickened his pace back to the Pokemon Center -- Ariston couldn't believe how excited he was just to be back to normal life.

After a short walk, the large structure that was the Pokemon Center came into sight. Looking around, Ariston noticed how Oreburgh hadn't changed at all, even with the attack from Team Galactic so close. People remained comfortably walking on the streets without a care in the world. Ariston found it mildly strange.

Regardless, Ariston made his way up to the Pokemon Center and pulled open one of the heavy steel doors -- a somewhat difficult task with one arm gimped. The unusual, foul smell of a doctor's office immediately smacked into his entire body as he got a blast from the air condition inside the hospital.

Without even paying the least bit of attention to any person, Pokemon or object in the lobby, Ariston headed directly for his room. He walked though the large, populated waiting area and went though a set of doors towards the back of the lobby. This lead him into a bland, off-white hallway that contained many of the hospital's rooms.

Ariston made his way though the bland hallway until finally coming to a stop at his room, Room 404. The moment Ariston reached down for the handle of the door, a very slight presence of nervousness came over him.

He tried to shake the feeling, but it remained static. He was unusually nervous for some occasion. Ariston could only think of one tangible reason -- it was feeling nervous about returning to Riolu in his injured state. He felt almost guilty for getting hurt and making her worry though all this time that he had been gone.

He forcibly silenced his worried mind, and turned the handle of the door. Ever so slowly, he cracked the door open, gradually making his way inside. Before Ariston even put a foot into the room, he half expected the familiar voice of Riolu to be in his head. However, there was silence.

Ariston opened the door fully, and finally walked in. The sight made him laugh.

Riolu was face-planted into a pillow, sound asleep on the room's couch -- right where he'd left her. It appeared as if she hadn't moved at all since he had left.

As silently as he could, Ariston began to walk over to her. He didn't want to wake her, Riolu looked totally exhausted. He wouldn't be suprised if she had been up all night waiting for his return. She finally must have dozed off.

Ariston couldn't quite describe what feelings this brought to him. He was having trouble wrapping his head around how this new Pokemon of his could be so concerned with his well being. It felt great to have someone who cared for him so much after so little time together.

He sat softly beside her, not disturbing her sleep, and laid his head back. He couldn't wait until he could begin training with Riolu. Though he couldn't say why, he just knew Riolu would be a spectacular Pokemon.

Ariston closed his eyes, only for a moment. He just wanted to spend a few minutes resting his eyes and relaxing beside Riolu. Yet before he could even realize, Ariston was asleep.

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"...and do you assert all the events you have stated before the Semideus to be nothing but the core truth according to your recollection, Dr. Michals?" Dr. Laverd said, finalizing their meeting as Dr. Michals finished surmising the day of Subject_14's escape.

"I swear it," he quickly answered with a sense confidence.

This was unfortunate. They'd asked him only to recall what had happened upon Subject_14's escape; there was no mention of why it had happened, or how he could fix the matter. In addition, the glazed look upon the doctors faced made it appear that most of the Overseers had already made their decision.

"So, do you believe that Subject_14's escape, in addition to Project Crucifix's failu--" Dr. Laverd started.

"-- It was not a failure, Dr. Laverd, not in any way." Dr. Michals spat, cutting him off. "If anything, the fact that Subject_14 managed to not only escape our facility, and successfully resist any of our defenses just furthers the proof of my-- our, rather, success on this matter.".

"Noted," Dr. Laverd returned calmly, judgmentally quirking an eyebrow.

Dr. Michals felt a warm knot in this throat, his blood began to boil at the arrogance of Dr. Laverd. The sheer audacity of him to casually call his work a failure was the very reason Dr. Michals truly hated the man before him.

"I think I've heard all I need to." Dr. Laverd said. "Shall we proceed then?"

"Hold on a moment, we've not finished. I've yet to make my defense, doctor," Dr. Michals said cautiously. Surely they couldn't end a Semideus this quickly without even hearing a plausible defense from the defendant.

"I'd say that's unnecessary at this point, and being that I control this Semideus, that's reason enough," Dr. Laverd said cockily.

"Surely this is a tasteless joke, Dr. Laverd," Dr. Michals retorted, a large tone of anger in his voice. "You cannot make a decision not knowing all the facts."

Dr. Laverd rolled his eyes, as if he were speaking to a child, and began writing on a scrap of paper before him. Dr. Michals' knuckles began to turn white as he gripped the podium before him. His heart raced in anger as Dr. Laverd continued to ignore him, and the worst part was, the Judge would have the final say regardless on when to end the Semideus. There was nothing Dr. Michals could do; his fate was in the hands of the four Overseers.

"Overseers, please cast your vote now," Dr. Laverd commanded to the doctors around him, flagrantly ignoring the pleas of Dr. Michals. The doctors surrounding Dr. Laverd shot questioning glances at one another. Even they were slightly offset by this.

"Doctor, perhaps we should continue the trial for a bit longer," Dr. Isaeus spoke finally, speaking what was on every one of the Overseer's minds, "I'd personally like to hear another side of the story rather than just its summary from Dr. Michals. I would prefer to hear all sides of this story, rather than remaining ignorant."

"Dually noted, Dr. Isaeus. However, my decision is not weighed upon what you think, and so I'd like you to cast your vote now," Dr. Laverd retorted coldly. The sheer tone of his voice was saturated in spite for Dr. Michals. Hopefully, the Overseers would catch on to this, and vote in Dr. Michals favor, because if not then Dr. Michals wouldn't have much of a future. Some of the doctors around Dr. Laverd whispered to one another, presumably about the obvious conflict of interest they were witnessing.

"Have you anything to say before the decisions are cast, Dr. Michals?" Dr. Laverd said with a trace of a grin on his face.

Dr. Michals sighed, perhaps this was the dawn of his defeat. Maybe Dr. Laverd -was- better than him.

"Just this: Defeat is not the worst of failures, not to have tried is the true failure. I may have been defeated by the ferocity we crafted into Subject_14's body, but in trying, I made my time here count."

"Wonderful," Dr. Laverd scoffed. "Proceed with the voting based on the facts, and nothing but the facts, Overseers. Please keep in mind that letting personal feelings gage your decision is in direct contradiction to the process of the Semideus."

Dr. Michals stood in silence. The lights below the desks of the Overseers were turned off, shrouding the desks in darkness, save for the seat of Dr. Laverd. He stared at Dr. Michals, his fingers interlaced gracefully, dying to see his enemy be ruled Condemned.

It may have been just moments, it may have been longer, but Dr. Michals stood silently awaiting his fate. A part of his mind told him there was still hope, but alas, that he knew that 'hope' was just a reaction to fear. As he attempted to think logically about his situation, he realized how the odds were just so heavily against him. Even if he managed to scrape two positive votes from the Overseers, Dr. Laverd would then have the final say, and he knew exactly how that would end. He needed three Overseers to judge in his favor, which seemed like a hell of a long shot to hope for.

Hope. It's all he had at this point. Sure, every doctor up there had a human side, but they had been so worn down by the mordant atmosphere of the facility, most no longer had tangible hearts. Perhaps he -had- failed with Project_Crucifix...

...No, he was positive that Subject_14 would have been -- and already is a success. Watching Subject_14 tear though guards effortlessly upon his escape, his sheer acrobatics in simple maneuvers to avoid danger, and his fluid movement seamlessly fused with combat was almost worth all the hardships he'd faced since then. It was beautiful watching him escape, but apparently, he was the only one who had thought so.

Dr. Michals was drawn out from his thoughts as a drop of sweat traveled down his face. Dr. Laverd hadn't moved his gaze since the voting process began; he was staring holes in Dr. Michals.

If only Dr. Michals could be back in his laboratory, the Lacrimosa playing in the background as he monitored the progress of a successful Subject_14 -- but it appeared that it was a fate he was not meant for. This was reality, and however hard, he had to now face it.

Dr. Alvis, Overseer number one, leaned over to Dr. Laverd and gave him a slight nod. Dr. Michals assumed this was the signal for the end of the voting process. His heart nearly stopped as he waited for the results. He would literally watch his life's worth be voted upon, and then Judged by his enemy.

"Wonderful, we shall reveal the votes in random order," Dr. Laverd said, still content with the grin on his face. "Are you ready, Dr. Michals?"

"I am," he retuned immediately. He may have been scared for his life, but he refused to show it to any of them.

"Very well then, the first is..." Dr. Laverd began, glancing at some sheet of paper upon his desk. Dr. Michals knew what it was, he'd been there before. It was simply the list of the doctors names who were the Overseers. Dr. Laverd would decide himself who would vote at what time. Whatever doctor he chose would simply state their vote and, if they wished, their reason as to why.

All Overseers once again turned on their desk lights, and presented themselves ready to vote.

"Dr. Pollux, I wish for you to go first. Speak whenever you're ready," Dr. Laverd said candidly. He was loving every moment of this. The sheer rush of having this sort of power was marvelous to him.

"Right," Dr. Pollux began, "Dr. Michals, you've served quite a long time here -- longer than I have in fact -- and I don't doubt that you know what you're doing. It's obvious that this was a tragic incident that fell upon your shoulders, and given the situation of your subject's escape, I'd say it's unfortunate that things turned out the way it did here today. Project_Crucifix truly sounded amazing in the beginning, but totally unrealistic at the same time. I never thought you'd get a human body to store the kinds of things you did, it's truly astounding that even one of your subjects even lived. As we work in a facility where most test subjects are Pokemon, and can handle much more stress than a human body, a real live subject from Project_Crucifix sounded like a dream."

Dr. Michals started to feel indifferent about Dr. Pollux's decision. Perhaps he'd misjudged him. He talked as if he sympathized with Dr. Michals, which was quite good for him right now. Dr. Michals did realize however, that all Dr. Pollux had -really- done was offer him congratulations upon having a living subject -- which could even be interpreted as a subtle, sarcastic insult. Perhaps Dr. Michals was was just once again reacting to fear. Dr. Michals quickened heart rate began to jump once again, and his skin crawled with anticipation. Dr. Pollux would be making the first vote soon, and Dr. Michals didn't quite know what to expect.

Dr. Michals looked over at Dr. Laverd, whose expression had not at all changed since they began, still cocky as ever. His lunges felt tired, almost exhausted even, the stress of the situation was taking its physical toll on Dr. Michals.

"I say all this, because I'm truly impressed with your work..." Dr. Pollux continued.

Dr. Michals held his breath for a moment. He tightened his already firm grip on his stand -- Dr. Michals could feel beads of sweat forming on his neck as he awaited the decision.

"..but the facts are simple. You failed to secure your subject, and people died because of it. I vote in favor of Condemnation."

Dr. Michals felt his heart move to his throat at the last words of Dr. Pollux. His eyes strained wide as perspiration ran down his face... It even appeared for a moment that Dr. Pollux was giving Dr. Michals praise, yet the end game was Condemnation. His skin started to crawl once again as he began to feel physically sick. Dr. Michals continued to stare at the judgmental face of Dr. Pollux whose decision only widened the pleasure of Dr. Laverd. Dr. Laverd simply made a small mark on the sheet of paper in front of him, recording Dr. Pollux's final vote.

Dr. Michals hadn't misjudged that bastard at all. He was a heartless creature who'd had the life and emotion sucked out of him by constantly being surrounded by death. Now, Dr. Michals had the first vote against him. It would be an upward struggle from here.

"First vote for Condemnation confirmed," Dr. Laverd said, trying to hide his joy at this news, but failing as he continued to display his obvious grin. "Let us continue."

Every moment that passed that Dr. Laverd got to see Dr. Michals on the chopping block was pure ecstasy for him. It was a perfect situation, the epitome of what he'd hoped for. His biggest competition, Dr. Michals, would in all likely hood soon be found Condemned. Dr. Laverd felt the almost overwhelming bubbling of laughter at this situation in the pit of his stomach, and struggled to force it down. He had to remain professional for now, and save his celebration for afterwards. Besides, appearing impartial on the decision when he was so heavily in favor of Condemnation would only sweeten the suffering Dr. Michals would go through. After all, he did rightfully deserve it. He had tried an extremely difficult and unrecommended project, and expectedly failed. Dr. Laverd's decision not only went with logic, but his personal feeling towards the man as well.

Dr. Laverd once again looked down to the paper on his desk, and said aloud, "Dr. Isaeus. Please present your vote."

Dr. Isaeus was met with a slight nod from Dr. Laverd, a clear sign to continue. Dr. Isaeus was also met with a hard, determined stare from Dr. Michals. He may have been behind, but still, showing weakness would only make heighten the pleasure of Dr. Laverd.

"Very well then," Dr. Isaeus said, clearing his throat as he prepared to speak. "Dr. Michals, Dr. Pollux said some very true things about you, upon which I agree. Your near-success on Project_Crucifix shows your competence as a doctor, and as a man of science."

Dr. Michals appreciated the fact he'd called Project_Crucifix a 'near-success' rather than a failure. Though, Dr. Isaeus began his speech by agreeing with Dr. Pollux, who eventually voted negatively. Dr. Michals wouldn't dare assume anything anymore. Dr. Michals couldn't read what Dr. Isaeus was thinking, but once again, the anticipation of his decision was tearing him apart. Dr. Isaeus could either be a kind of man who would empathize with Dr. Michals, or mercilessly condemn him -- feeling no remorse or regret either way.

"Isn't that was science is though?" he continued in his deep, weathered voice. "Taking risks in the hopes of meeting a new, unfamiliar goal? How can any of us judge you for that? I not only appreciate the work that you did, but I look forward to the work you can do in the future. I vote in your favor, Dr. Michals. I vote for your Freedom. Perhaps if more of us were like you, and took on a challenge, they wouldn't be so arrogant."

As he finished his last statement, he shot a very clear glance at Dr. Laverd. The last words he said were an blatant and powerful -- yet hidden -- insult to Dr. Laverd. Dr. Isaeus spoke those words in such a stern tone, it seemed to make Dr. Laverd boil with anger -- yet he dared not retort. Dr. Michals gave a nod to Dr. Isaeus, which was quickly returned by his comrade. He smiled to himself at not only the vote for his Freedom, but the stabbing insult to the character of Dr. Laverd.

It seemed the tables had turned slightly in Dr. Michals favor this time. He'd expected Dr. Isaeus to vote positively, but confirmation was leagues better than flimsy expectations. Plus, the way Dr. Isaeus hid that insult to Dr. Laverd in his speech would surely take away some of the smugness that Dr. Laverd carried so avidly.

"Votes are now at one to one," Dr. Laverd said, his teeth visibly clenched in frustration. "Next Overseer, Dr. Alvis, please continue where Dr. Isaeus so pleasantly left off."

Dr. Laverd reluctantly marked Dr. Isaeus's vote on the same sheet of paper on his desk as Dr. Alvis began to speak.

Her slender, female face carried a dark undertone as the shadows moved across her body from the light upon her desk. During the voting process, after or before one spoke, they were to remain completely silent at all times. If it was not their specific time to vote, their eyes were to be kept forward and their mouthes shut as to prevent any influence on the next doctor's decision. Dr. Iseaus, Dr. Pollux, Dr. Cronus and Dr. Laverd all sat stiffly in silence as Dr. Alvis began her judgement.

She, like Dr. Iseaus, cleared her throat as she began.

"By the extremely brief summary you provided us, as well as our requirement to make this vote so early in the trial makes me question whether I've made the right decision or not. Regardless though, I hope you understand that it was made to the best of my judgement."

It almost seemed as if she was apologizing for the decision she had made. This didn't sit well with Dr. Michals. The tone in her voice made it seem like she was sorry for something. Perhaps she'd revealed her vote to everyone already simply by the way she began.

"So," she continued, "here's what I know. I know that Project_Crucifix sub-domain, Subject_14, was a potential success."

She spoke with heavy diction and formalities, which seemed odd to Dr. Michals. She even called Subject_14 by his technical name, which was printed as, 'Project_Crucifix://Subject_14'. This was the way all subjects were classified, project name first, followed by the facilities signature sub-domain marking, '://', and then finally the subject and his or hers number. It was quite the use of syntax to speak in such a way. Dr. Michals could respect that.

"But," she said, raising an index finger as she went on, "before you reached Stage Nine, your subject was able to free himself not only from chemical and neural inhibitors, but also break the physical restraints you had placed on him -- and if I am to understand correctly, they were both quite numerous."

"Yes, they were. It would have been both unrealistic and dangerous to place any more restraints on Subject_14 for Stage Nine than we already did. We took the proper precautions when we--"

"-- Please allow her to finish, Dr. Michals, you've had our opportunity to speak already," Dr. Laverd said, cutting off Dr. Michals mid sentence.

Dr. Laverd was attempting an obvious ploy to rial Dr. Michals psyche. Dr. Michals scoffed at the formalness of his own thoughts. That wasn't at all what he was doing. He was being an asshole.

Dr. Alvis sighed, and continued. "So I do not doubt you took the proper precautions on this project. His escape was perhaps, an anomalistic mixture of his own strength, and the fuel of his adrenaline. It was really something no one could have foreseen, and I accept that. This facility does anticipate these kinds of mishaps, and we, as I'm sure you are aware, have an abundance of employees trained to contain renegade subjects. Not only did Subject_14 avoid being overwhelmed by these guards, but he killed quite a few of them -- a task that hasn't been achieved by many escapees nor intruders in the past. This fact, I do believe proves your success Dr. Michals. I think the return of Subject_14 would be a great asset to this facility, and he would certainly help achieve our long term goals. I almost feel that Subject_14 is a requirement for the facility's plans for the future of Sinnoh, and so we certainly need him back. This is why, Dr. Michals, I believe in you."

Her voice sloped down from a stern, logistic woman, into the tone of an understanding friend. She understood like he understood, she believed like he believed. She thought firmly and logistically, yet was open minded -- there were just a few of the traits Dr. Michals admired about her.

"I cast my vote as Overseer number one on the case of Semideus hearing A 047Y in favor of the defendant," she confirmed, with what Dr. Michals believed to be the trace of a smile on her face.

Dr. Michals dared to feel a wisp confidence once again. Though he was by no means in the lead, he needed just a single vote to be a free man. Though, that same vote could turn the decision to Dr. Laverd. His chances were balanced on a knife's edge.

As Dr. Laverd once again recorded the vote for freedom with disinclination, Dr. Michals gave a polite nod to Dr. Alvis as he did with Dr. Isaeus, but with the same slight smile she had shown to him -- a rarity for Dr. Michals to perform.

Dr. Laverd removed his glasses and began to rub his eyes, brimming with invisible frustration. Dr. Michals knew he was the only one in the room that really understood what was going though Dr. Laverd's head right now. To have Dr. Michals freed after acting so arrogantly would be a monumental, embarrassing defeat on his behalf. Though Dr. Laverd did not abandon hope just yet. As worried as he was, he knew that if the final Overseer voted for Condemnation, the decision would fall to him -- the outcome he ideally hoped for from the beginning. In a way, the two votes for freedom were necessary to get the paragonal outcome. Dr. Laverd couldn't even properly imagine the amount pleasure of personally condemning Dr. Michals would bring.

"I suppose that brings us to you, Dr. Cronus," Dr. Laverd said, not lifting his head from palms of his hands. "Please begin."

"Right then," he began as he sat up straighter in his chair. "Guess I get to go last."

Dr. Cronus removed his glasses, and placed them on the desk before him. Dr. Michals' hair began to stand on end once again as he awaited the final say of the Overseers. There was only one chance of this ending well for him, and that was for Dr. Cronus to vote in his favor. If he were to agree with Dr. Pollux, and vote for Condemnation, the deciding vote would go to Dr. Laverd, and then it would simply be over for him.

"While I respect all of the opinions I've heard thus far from these three admirable doctors, Dr. Alvis, Dr. Pollux, and Dr. Isaeus, I'm afraid I do not completely agree with any of you upon this matter," he continued.

Didn't agree with any of them? His cryptic choice of words made him difficult to read for Dr. Michals -- it was still a fifty-fifty chance for either result. Dr. Michals remained as stern as a mountain as he listened keenly to Dr. Cronus dictate his fate.

"There are a few opinions stated here I can concur with, though" Dr. Cronus explained, sitting at ease in his chair. "For example, I do believe that Subject_14 could possibly be a success, and that it was impressive the odds it overcame to escape from us. Subject_14 was an anomaly, yes, and it took quite the trial of skill to have a success in Project_Crucifix -- a project not meant to be attempted for at least another decade. All valid arguments as to why one would vote in your favor, Dr. Michals."

Dr. Michals took this praise as a double edged complement -- he sensed a 'but' coming soon.

"But," Dr. Cronus continued, confirming Dr. Michals expectations, "it's also true that the action of Subject_14's escape denotes failure on your behalf. It doesn't really matter how much you 'did', it obviously wasn't enough to restrain it, and therefore the fault falls on you alone. One cannot blame our guards, for they wouldn't have been presented with this opportunity for failure without the fault of Dr. Michals and his team."

All Dr. Michals saw this man doing is attempting to buy more time by recapping the arguments that had been said before his. Perhaps he was sure of his opinion at one point, but after hearing other arguments was still debating with himself on which side to take -- hence his stretch for time. Dr. Michals forced himself to curb his analytical mind; it would do him no good to pick apart the actions of Dr. Cronus. He really was powerless right now, which was a feeling that was worse than hell for him.

"So here's the conclusion I've drawn," he explained, "and it centers around a single motif; all these opinions I've heard so far, while I do agree with some, are in the long run extraneous. The reason I say this is because of the circumstances of this trail."

This confused Dr. Michals. How could all the facts and opinions from all of the other doctors be irrelevant? How could you make a certain decision without opinions like those? Dr. Cronus didn't have the same mindframe as Dr. Michals... It was at this point that he realized just how differently a physicist's thought process worked.

"Here is what's important," he said, getting to the point of his argument. "The only reason that you and your team were not immediately reprimanded for your actions is because of the reputation you hold here. You've worked in the facility since your early twenties, if I am to understand correctly, which has given you a long, experienced career here. Over the years you've worked on many important projects, and perhaps none of us, save for Dr. Isaeus, have seen more work than you have. Your reputation is what has carried you this far, Dr. Michals. I'm sure the higher-ups of this facility called for a Semideus rather than immediate condemnation out of respect for the work you've done, and that is simply something I cannot agree with."

Things were beginning to fall apart. It was still too early to tell Dr. Cronus's vote, but his was making heavy inferences as to what his decision would be. Dr. Michals felt his heart rate begin to quicken once again. His breaths became a struggle as he continued to listen, expecting the worst.

"This is why," he began again, Dr. Michals closed his eyes, he knew exactly what Dr. Cronus was about to say, "I vote in favor of equality among all staff members, and therefore I vote for Condemnation."

The room fell silent to Dr. Michals. It was over. He dreaded to look up at the triumphant face of Dr. Laverd as the decision was finally passed to him. Dr. Michals heart had climbed down from its quickened pace into a slow, hopeless one -- he supposed that uncertainty was much worse than punishment. It was an odd feeling, knowing defeat like this, his body was for the first time since the trial began... relaxed. Those final words form Dr. Cronus had sealed his fate. He had done all he could. It was a shame it had to end like this, by the hands of his enemy. It was an almost euphoric feeling now, tranquility even. He knew what his fate would be now, and he could face it like a man.

He opened his eyes finally to be instantly met with the confident gaze of Dr. Laverd, brimming with pride. This arrogant child would be the one to decide his life. It was plain stupid that things had gotten this far out of hand. Dr. Michals still remained externally stern, as to not show weakness. Though internally, he felt like he was being slowly ripped apart. Every moment he had to look at the silent, smiling face of Dr. Laverd watching him savor every moment of his victory was like knives under his skin.

"Well then," Dr. Laverd started, breaking the silence, "according to the protocol of the Semideus, when the vote stalemates at 2:2, the final decision falls down to the Judge. Me."

Dr. Laverd tried with all his strength to hide his smile, but it was useless. He was overjoyed at this, the outcome was -perfect-. He would get to personally vanquish the reputation and life of his biggest competition and enemy, Dr. Michals. Dr. Laverd returned his glasses onto his face, and let out a euphoric sigh as he did. It was time to deliver the final blow in the war between him and Dr. Michals.

"I hereby end this Semideus," he said, his voice crackling with the sound of suppressed, sick laughter, "and deliver my sentence to the defendant in favor of Condemnation."

"...so sorry," Dr. Laverd added with a smile after a pause, his voice thick with sickening sarcasm.

Dr. Michals started him down, unwavering in his grim expression towards the man. All he could do now was accept it, he simply refused to show any sort of admittance of defeat to Dr. Laverd. Perhaps someone on his team, the six working on Project_Crucifix, would be able to escape the Condemnation sentence, and peruse Subject_14 after he was removed. Perhaps, even though he would be gone, there would be hope for Subject_14.

"Your Condemnation will begin immediately," Dr. Laverd continued, his eyes shining in confident rapture. "I sentence you t--"

Dr. Laverd's smile suddenly vanished and he stopped mid sentence. Dr. Michals had braced himself to hear those words, those final words form Dr. Laverd deciding a punishment, but something stopped him... by the sheer magnitude of pleasure Dr. Laverd got out of sentencing him, whatever distracted him must have been titanic.

A small, green light flickered on the desktop of Dr. Laverd. The Judge's desk was multi-functional, and had a kind of computer built into it which was used for processing documents during the trial, but it appeared he had a call. Only five people had the authority to interrupt a Semideus. The five leaders of the facility, the five who founded it. The superiors.


	8. Chapter Eight: Changes

Hello everyone. I totally have missed writing... and so I'm back!

Yes, yes, it's been awhile since the story has continued, and I know I left off on a cliffhanger -- but I'm here again to continue the story. W00tzrz.

I have no idea whether people still read my story or not, but I still get the periodic email asking about Project Crucifix -- it all just made me want to write again. So here I am!

And blah blah blah, that's about all I have to say other than I'll try and get Chapter 9 out soon. I hope you guys enjoy reading as much as I did writing.

Word Count ~ 9,500

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Chapter Eight: Changes

His face was absent of any signs of emotion as Dr. Laverd held the phone up to his ear. Not once did he attempt to speak -- save for "Hello", and the periodic "Yes sir" -- while the gnarled low voice fed into his ear. As each second passed, the color drained from Dr. Laverd's face until the man nearly resembled an otherworldly specter.

Not one had the courage to interrupt the conversation, not the members of the Court nor Dr. Michals. His work, his life -- nay, the crux of his existence was hanging by mere threads at this point. He simply couldn't muster up the courage to speak at such a time.

Dr. Laverd held a humble black receiver up to his ear -- a surprisingly basic piece of technology in such a place of science, but functional nonetheless. The cold unfeeling phone pressing against Dr. Laverd's ear combined with his warm, perspiring skin made shivers run up and down his body. The room was dead silent, the only sound came from the low inaudible hum from the phone receiver. A tangible tension tightened around every soul in the room.

A lucid hope flashed before Dr. Michals, maybe not for his own fate, but for the success of his Project. The Superiors would certainly not interrupt a Semideus for something trivial -- meaning the matter must pertain to him and Project Crucifix.

Dr. Michals' uncertain circumstantial rationalization combined with the fleeting sings of life in Dr. Laverd's face gave him unusual optimism.

The Overseers shot each other uncomfortable looks as Dr. Laverd continued his conversation with monosyllabic indications of understanding and acceptance. His words sunk beneath him -- "Yes sir", and "Of course, I agree" did not suit the otherwise proud doctor.

Within a minute the conversation ended with an unflattering clunk as Dr. Laverd placed the receiver back down with a good deal of momentum.

Dr. Michals perked up -- as did the other four doctors in the room. Contradictory to the silent room, their minds were burning with questions.

Dr. Laverd inhaled as if he was going to begin, then let out a sigh.

Dr. Michals was a frightful wreck. His very core was shaken enough by the almost torturous trial. This, compounded by the silent hostility of Dr. Laverd, made him want to vomit. He outwardly kept his composure, of course, but his mind was screaming.

Dr. Laverd's face spoke before his words ever reached Dr. Michals' ears.

For Dr. Laverd's face was a gnarled expression of disapproval and disgust that he simply could not properly vocalize even if he tried. His eyes burned with scorn as they attempted to drill holes in Dr. Michals. Both doctors however, managed to appear calm on the surface.

Sitting there, all eyes focused on him, Dr. Laverd remained still with his hands folded on his desk. He removed his glasses and closed his eyes with a deep breath -- wiping the small traces of sweat off his brow -- then returned focus on Dr. Michals.

This was it.

With out a crevasse of emotion, Dr. Laverd began to speak in a horse, stressed voice that sounded like it was being forced out of his throat -- Dr. Michals heart raced out of his chest.

"The Superior Council of this Facility have reached a verdict of their own, it seems." Dr. Laverd began. As slowly as he was taking to deliver the message from the Superiors, Dr. Michals was beginning to feel relief -- though his heart and blood pressure rushed with stress.

Dr. Laverd spoke though his clenched teeth as he continued, "As all of you know, Superior Order bypasses all lower forms of protocol, and so the situation is out of my hands."

Dr. Michals knew at this exact moment that there was hope for him -- he was positive. Judging by how much this pained Dr. Laverd to say, he knew it simply must be good news for his own situation. Surely the highly objective Superiors would recognize the genius in his work, and commission some form of action to retrieve Subject_14. Surely they woul--

"Dr. Michals, this next bit is important, I need you to pay close attention," Dr. Laverd said callously as he interrupted Dr. Michals' train of thought. Admittedly, Dr. Michals was being over analytical and drifting off -- a nervous habit -- but it seemed like Dr. Laverd just wanted to be snippy. A familiar childish resort.

"As per Superior Order _0A8N_Ω, a Sigma Protocol has been initiated for Project_Crucifix." Dr. Laverd continued, a dollop of panic in his voice.

'...Sigma Protocol?' Dr. Laverd wondered to himself, '...this is...'

A universal expression of confusion and awe swept across the room. For they all knew exactly what a Sigma Protocol was.

'...wonderful.' he continued in his mind.

Dr. Michals entered this room expecting the worst, and now, chance, luck, fate -- whatever one could call it -- had redirected the situation in his favor. The Sigma Protocol was the perfect course of action to reacquire Subject_14. His terror and fear suddenly were morphed into power and euphoria, the situation had turned out perfectly.

Though Dr. Michals had never experienced a Sigma Protocol initiated first hand, he knew exactly what it was. Rather than winding around in circles behind bureaucratic red tape and proper code -- much like they were doing in this Semideus -- the Sigma Protocol would take action. He knew 'Sigma Protocol' was just a fancy name for what it really was -- a massive facility mobilization of all resources and successful Projects to acquire a difficult or prestigious goal by whatever means necessary.

Dr. Michals was almost... honored by this. The fact that his Project -- his ONE Subject -- was important enough to become a number one priority for the entire facility was an incredible compliment to his work. He knew that his success in Subject_14 would shine though. They would retrieve Subject_14 and complete him, he couldn't wait.

Almost immediately, Dr. Michals analytical mind swept in to push his ego aside -- the escape of Subject_14 would not be enough to warrant a Sigma Protocol. Though Subject_14 was a rare success, his recovery was certainly not of enough importance to be such a priority for the -entire- Facility. The Sigma Protocol was only issued for -vital- matters pertaining to the Facility. Dr. Michals knew there must be some deeper meaning running below this Sigma Protocol -- something he was unaware of.

Regardless, Dr. Michals soul had been relieved of all its stain from the Semideus. He could breathe easier, he could think clearer -- he could even see better. The tremendous weight of the trial had been lifted off his back -- momentarily, anyway.

"To clarify," Dr. Laverd continued, "the Superiors have 'requested' we release a certain Subject. They've personally picked out which Subject will be best to retrieve or capture Subject_14 in a timely fashion. It goes without saying that this matter is not open to debate -- less I would.". Dr. Laverd remained a demeanor of calm as he spoke. Though his voice wasn't horse with scorn, his eyes were -- Dr. Laverd could not have cared less about Dr. Michals or his Subject_14, he just wanted to get the upper hand on Dr. Michals.

"This Semideus has been ordered to a halt until the successful recovery of Subject_14." Dr. Laverd spat out rapidly as if it was a foul tasting sentence. Dr. Michals knew this was coming, a Sigma Protocol halted all worthless bureaucratic processes immediately to make workers focus on the priority -- and the priority was Subject_14. Dr. Michals at once regained all of his inner focus and strength. The weak, insecure thoughts he had during his trial had vanished and been discarded -- he was back on top, Dr. Laverd couldn't bring him down anymore. Dr. Michals flashed Dr. Laverd a slight smile riddled with contempt just to enjoy the moment a bit more. Though they would resume the trial when Subject_14 was captured, Dr. Michals knew the situation would be different then -- surely they would see his genius in a different light.

"Though I disagree with their decisions, I respect their authority. The Superiors don't initiate Sigma Protocols lightly, this must run deeper than we currently know. It's of utmost importance that we comply and succeed with their request -- it's never wise to upset the only ones that have authority over you. With that said..." he continued, "A temporary specialty team will be created to focus on the location and retrieval of Subject_14."

Dr. Laverd's eyes continually shifted downwards and away from Dr. Michals' -- he seemed ashamed of what he was about to say. The focus of the four other doctors acting as Overseers remained on Dr. Laverd just as anxiously as Dr. Michals.

"In accordance with the purpose of this Sigma Protocol, this speciality team will be appropriately referred to as Team 14." Dr. Laverd continued to explain. With this he glanced down to the computer screen integrated into his glass desk and gave it a few thoughtless taps with sweat glazed fingers. He quickly located and opened the text file containing Team 14's members and information that had been sent to him by the Superiors just moments ago.

Though he had been told on the phone, he still could not believe his situation -- he simply could not fathom why the Superiors would put him in such a situation. His eyes scanned though the file pertaining to Team 14 once more to be sure -- he prayed he was mistaken, or that he misread something, but alas, he had not. He cursed his life silently in his thoughts and looked up from his desk as the dull light from the computer screen gave his face a depressing low underglow.

"The Superiors have decided," he said, "to have Dr. Michals and I lead Team 14."

Dr. Michals immediately opened his mouth to protest, but no words were able to escape his awestruck body.

"They're sending someone down immediately to brief us," he continued with disgust, "this Semideus is hereby adjourned."

------------------------------------------------------------

Huge, curious ruby eyes filled his frame of vision the moment he opened his eyes.

Ariston jumped slightly as his drowsy mind struggled assess the situation. He hadn't an idea whether it was morning, noon, or night, nor a clue as to where he was -- but he immediately recognized the eyes. Those brilliant eyes would always belong to his Riolu, he could never mistake them. They almost had a hypnotic quality -- like crystalline shapes infinitely refracting scarlet light. They were beautiful -- there was just no other word for it.

"Good Morni--" he began sleepily only to be cut off. The quiver of her frantic, worried voice was already present throughout his thoughts.

("What happened to you?!") she screamed mentally, ("You weren't here yesterday and... and... then I didn't know where you were and then... then it was daytime and you still weren't here and... and...")

Ariston couldn't help but smile as her frantically formed sentences flooded all corners of his mind. Though he'd been feeling guilty and selfish for leaving her so alone, it -was- slightly cute how worried she was.

He was again in the all-too-familiar hospital room, sitting on the same couch. He figured he must have slept though the night. His thoughts, however, were quickly directed to the still frantic Riolu before him -- He smiled as her rambling thoughts continued to flood his mind.

("...and... and then there was this guy, and I didn't know him, and he had a white coat and...")

His mind could only manage to half listen to her, for he immediately distracted by just seeing her face again, and remembering how he left her left behind when he went to Jubilife City.

("...but that wasn't even the WORST part! He had TWO! and then...")

He suprised himself by how genuinely happy he was to see her again. He couldn't help but sport a grin as she went on.

("...so I stayed up with that note.. You know, that note you gave me? That one, just like you told me to, then I...")

Ariston suddenly felt selfish again for risking himself, not for his sake, but for hers. For the first time in his life, he really had someone who's life he was responsible for -- Riolu truly relied on him. If he were to leave her, she'd be on her own. He could not imagine forcing such a fate on her.

Ariston decided immediately, and with his whole heart, he would never leave her again. He wouldn't risk it.

("...but HE didn't know EITHER! But it was okay, because I -really- didn't like him, so I went an--")

"Riolu," he said aloud, placing his mobile hand upon her small body as comfort -- quelling her unremitting thoughts. He paused for a moment, letting her finally calm down.

"I'm happy to see you too," he finally finished, with a smile.

She instantly collapsed onto him, giving him the biggest hug her tiny arms could manage. She squeezed him, and finally gave a sigh of relief.

"You're dumb," she said sweetly, "but I'm glad you're okay."

Riolu had realized that Ariston was her provider and her protector of course, but at this point she was only concerned with Ariston being safe -- not just her 'Provider' being alive.

Pushing herself back up from her small, powerful hug, she finally took the time to acknowledge Ariston's rather noticeable injury.

"Now tell me what happened to you!" she pouted, pointing at Ariston's right arm sitting in a sling.

"What's that...uh... thing?!" she continued, trying to remain at her initial level of intensity. "Is your arm in there? Where'd it go?"

Ariston chuckled again at her innocence -- Riolu was still so unfamiliar with her world.

"Well, it's just a little mishap that happened in Jubilife... It's nothing major, I just can't use this arm for a little while. No need to worry, I'll be fine -- I promise." he replied. "I just got in a little scuffle.. that's all."

Riolu hopped down onto the floor and crossed her arms. She raised a quizzical brow as she carefully took a look Ariston's Aura. Examining him for a moment, Riolu could clearly see that Ariston was at peace, but was hiding something from her. Ariston remained slightly confused as he watched her eyes run up and down him questionably -- her stance seemed to show her disbelief in what he'd just told her.

"Oh -really-?" she asked teasingly as she continued to watch the light colors of Ariston's Aura surround him, "Just a little scuffle was it?"

Words nor thoughts couldn't truly express how relieved she was to see no traces of the ugly, black Aura that drenched him when he left for Jubilife as she examined Ariston. Just thinking about it gave her chills -- she never wanted to see it again.

Ariston smirked and shook his head, "Yeah, that's all."

He initially figured that it would be a good idea not to tell his worry ridden Pokemon -- his friend -- that he was almost made into steak by two vicious Absols. However, he was quickly beginning to see that fibbing to her wouldn't be easy, she was quite adept. Her innocence continually hid her brilliance.

Riolu giggled as she watched his Aura flare as he fibbed -- he was a terrible liar.

"Yeah right." she commented wryly.

It was probably best he didn't get into the specifics of how he was injured -- after all, he DID get in a scuffle... just with two berserk and hungry Pokemon. Ariston took a moment to consider how remarkably relaxed he was with her -- he was casually regarding a near-death situation as a 'scuffle' with out so much as a second thought. He liked this feeling, he liked being around her.

"But that's not important!" he said before she could call him out, "I say we take a trip over to Rorak."

"Why's thats?" she asked teasingly, "You sure we won't get into any 'scuffles' along the way?"

Ariston laughed and stood up from off the couch -- his body sore from sleeping in such an awkward position.

"No... But, I think Rorak might know a thing or two about training Riolus." he said in an effort to distract her investigative attention.

Her eyebrows almost jumped off her face, "You mean it?!"

"Of course," he said calmly, successfully diverting her attention, "Lets get Turtwig, Buizel and Luxio then we'll start making you into a stronger Pokemon. Sound good?"

Her eyes were widened, and her tiny heart almost burst out of her chest she was so excited.

"Yes that sounds good! That's sounds amazing!" She shouted, giving a joyous jump into the air as she did. Since she had hatched she wanted nothing more than to start training. She wanted to be the best she could be for Ariston -- she wanted to make him proud.

"Lets get going then." Ariston finished, walking towards the door. Riolu quickly followed behind him with a smile out of their bland hospital room.

------------------------------------------------------------

"Wake up Sunshine!" Dr. Maizner screamed sarcastically, his rubber glove covered hand lightly slapping Subject_14 on the face. "Time for all our hard work to finally pay off."

Subject_14 immediately attempted to awaken his mind and shake off the drowsiness of his heavy sedation. His body and mind were kept in a constant state of weakness -- a gambit by the doctors used, 'just to be safe'. His thoughts felt like fragments, his body felt broken and torn apart -- he looked around to try and gather any information about what fate awaited him next in the hellish Facility that was his home.

He was moving... surrounded by four familiar forms in white lab coats and face masks. He was strapped down to the cold unfeeling table he was being carted on, and could feel numerous needles and tubes filled with foreign liquids invading his veins. The narrow, blank-white hallway he was traveling down seemed infinite. He strained to flex his arms in an attempt to move, but was foiled by the tight metal rings that held him down. Nearly skin tight metal cuffs surrounded his wrists, elbows, neck, chest, stomach, knees and ankles. These claustrophobic rings made it impossible to budge -- less he would break free with all his strength.

Subject_14 recognized the shape of three of the four doctors around him. Dr. Maizner, of course, was the first. His shallow pompous attitude was a foul smell to Subject_14 -- his eyes burned as he stared at the man, he wanted to tear him in half. Adjacent to Dr. Maizner stood Dr. Michals -- the man Subject_14 had assumed to in charge of the operations performed on him judging by how he acted and was regarded by the other doctors. Next was Dr. Ariston -- Subject_14 had learned little about this man, but would treat him no different from the others.

Subject_14 wondered if his desire to break free of his mental and physical bonds would even be a possibility at this point. He felt caged and useless, starved and broken -- but worst of all, weak. If the opportunity ever came where he could escape, he would throw his all into it, he decided. For Subject_14 knew he would rather die trying attempting to break free then remain here any longer.

The fourth doctor was the unknown female. Her face, though covered by her medical mask, was as recognizable as ever. She had shown him a sliver of compassion in the past, yet her very consent to operate on him made her inhuman to Subject_14. Subject_14 did not see these doctors as human beings, they were fuel -- fuel for his desire to break out of this prison and return them the pain they had given him.

"Why isn't he talking?" Dr. Ariston asked his coworkers, "I mean, I know all the other subjects did. Do you think this could be a symptom of Sickle Cell Disease, or perhaps ABI?"

"Nah," Dr. Maizner replied, "he's always been like that. He's never got anything to say, I don't think this one is the brightest of the bunch."

'It looks like his eyes are screaming...' Dr. Ariston wanted to say, but instead compressed as a thought.

Content with that answer, and with no objections from Dr. Michals, Dr. Ariston shrugged off the possibility that the Subject was damaged. Dr. Ariston knew he was just obsessing. They had given Subject_14's body so many scans and tests to check for damages after each Stage that he was beginning to get a little be paranoid with the fact that there was never anything wrong with him. Subject_14 was a perfect test subject -- everything was going -too- well for this to be real, almost. A Subject performing as well as Subject_14 felt more theoretical than real.

Subject_14 heard the metal doors at the end of the hallway open, and was pushed into a new room.

Suddenly Subject_14 wondered what the doctor meant when he said, 'Time for all our hard work to pay off' -- just what kind of 'pay off' were they expecting?

Subject_14's stationary body observed what part of the new room he could see. The ceiling stretched up to the height of a gymnasiums', and there were numerous, large floodlights shining down from it. He couldn't see any of the walls around him, nor anything in front of him -- his head was locked in position by the metal cuff around his neck. He could feel the wheels of the cart he was on travel over many wires as they continued further into the room -- he could see out of the corner of his eye that there was some kind of device he was being taken to in the center of the room.

"Sir?" The unknown female doctor asked meekly to Dr. Michals, "I don't mean to speak out of line, but this machine has never been proven to be successful on a Subject with these unique characteristics -- perhaps we should reconsider?".

Dr. Michals continued facing forward as they walked, while the other doctors looked at her menacingly. Subject_14 could see the question rattle behind Dr. Michals eyes, as if he was calculating an adequate answer.

"What good is a weapon in individual parts?" Dr. Michals finally answered, "Is it still useful?"

The female doctor stammered as she tried to think of a correct answer, but quickly realized it was a rhetorical question.

"No," Dr. Michals continued, "it's not. All we have done to Subject_14 so far is install the parts that will make a weapon, he has all the tools necessary to be deadly. The problem is, all these parts accumulated from Stages 1 - 7 remain disjointed and unlinked within his body and mind. Accretive connection of all these tools will finalize his unique development, and will essentially complete him. If we do not he is useless. Mathematically, The PENDULUM should work as we expect it to, if not, we'll have the tedious task of altering Subject_14's body chemistry to synchronize with The PENDULUM until we reach success."

Though Dr. Michals wasn't facing her, she still gave a nod in acceptance. A part of her felt foolish for asking -- Dr. Michals was not one to change his mind. She just hoped The PENDULUM could help them complete Stage Eight -- Subject_14's Synchronization.

She was familiar with the machine, and knew that PENDULUM was an acronym for a long name she didn't bother to remember, but had never seen it used on a Subject with so many modifications or 'parts' as Dr. Michals appropriately called them.

The PENDULUM was an extremely large cubic metal chamber raised off the ground by a small pillar. The surface contained large numbers of cylindrical holes that hosted a variety of tubes that fed into The PENDULUM. Its grey and blue metallic texture made it seem more alien than man-made. Light from the ceiling lights shone down and refracted off the surface of The PENDULUM, giving it an eerie glow. Surrounding it were four large, white-washed control panels that monitored numerous vital signs, pressures, temperatures, and various other forms of data.

Each panel had two screens arranged vertically on the right side, a keyboard at the bottom, an a seemingly infinite amount of dials and balancer switches to regulate the conditions inside The PENDULUM. They panels were raised to chest level, and angled so they could be operated standing up. A menacing spiral of wires circled the floor stemming from The PENDULUM and traveled through out the room. The main chamber of the PENDULUM seemed almost large enough to fit a man twice Subject_14's size.

The female doctor prepared for her task of monitoring neural stability during Stage Eight on one of the four white panels surrounding The PENDULUM. The other three doctors would be performing similar tasks on the other panels -- each one monitoring a different aspect of Subject_14's health.

Dr. Maizner approached the large, metal door of The PENDULUM and dragged it open -- the horrid sound of metal scraping metal echoed throughout the large room. Inside was only empty space, and a horizontal metal pillar with a large hook-like object perturbing from the top of it.

"He ready?" Asked Dr. Maizner though his medical mask.

"Yes..." Dr. Michals said, reaching towards one of the panels to adjust some final settings, "He's ready. Please enter him into The PENDULUM now."

"And be careful with him." He added a moment later.

The other three doctors hastily moved the cart on which Subject_14 was secured to a location adjacent to the door -- the wheels running over cords caused his body to shake as they did so.

"One, two," Dr. Ariston began as the three prepared to slide the heavy metal plate into The PENDULUM, "...and three. Push."

Six hand slowly scraped the two inch sheet of metal that Subject_14 was attached two off the cart and into the PENDULUM. The grooves along The PENDULUM guided them as the metal plate dragged in. Continually straining to move the large object, the three eventually crept it fully inside. They pushed until they heard the satisfying sound of the metal plate snapping into place with the hook inside The PENDULUM.

Subject_14 lay on his back in the center of this large, dark cube. The door was slammed shut, and suddenly his body was surrounded in total darkness. He knew struggling at this point would be tedious, he could never break his restraints in his current condition. However, he would patiently wait for his opportunity to rip free of his captors -- and when he did, he would unleash the hell upon them.

"Initiating Stage Eight," he heard the severely muffled voice of the female doctor say, "I hope this works."

The machine around him suddenly arose to life -- the grinding sound of mechanical devices filled the air around him. His heart began to race once again. After the horrors he had experienced, fear had nearly disappeared from his body, but the nervousness and uncertainty of what was to come in Stage Eight still remained.

His lungs grew tight as his body struggled to breathe underneath the tight metal coils constraining him. The air around him started to become humid and wet.

The machine began to churn -- an eerie sound of water flowing played outside The PENDULUM. Subject_14 began to brace himself, both mentally and physically. He knew he was stronger than whatever awaited him now -- he had survived having his mind torn to shreds in Stage Seven, and his body split open and remodeled in Stage Six, he would not be beaten after coming so far. Soon, he would be strong enough to escape.

As the cyclic mechanical grinding continued, a foreign liquid began to fill the chamber flowing from the countless tubes invading the machine. The liquid crept in from dozens of the tubes, large and small, from nearly everywhere. Though the white noise of the liquid pouring down and against itself was unusually pleasant to him, he would expect the worst. The water level in the chamber began to approach the tablet Subject_14 was secured to.

Before long the strange liquid began shamelessly brushing against Subject_14's skin. Its texture was remarkable to Subject_14 as he began to feel its unique touch. This strange substance had the appearance and behavior of water, but felt ghostly and gaseous to the touch.

Subject_14 suddenly noticed the inflow of this liquid -- it was increasing. The liquid now filled the entire bottom of the chamber and to about halfway up his vertically laying body, yet the flow continued to increase. He wondered perhaps if they were going to completely submerge him -- would that not kill him? Subject_14 had wished for only two things for as far back as he could remember -- to either die or escape. Perhaps one of those options would soon be possible.

The liquid rose to his head, rushing into his ears as it did -- instantly muffling the constant sound of flowing water around him. His heart began to race once again, for the inflow was not stopping. He was unable to hear the doctors outside the chamber any longer. Subject_14 was utterly isolated. A small part of him liked this sudden feeling of solitude.

The water continued to rise past his mouth and eyes -- his body was now almost completely submerged. He could feel the liquid between the numerous metal rings that anchored him and his body. Subject_14 arched his head as much as he was able to try and breathe though his nose, his body giving chills from the strange texture of the liquid. He quickly opened his eyes beneath the liquid -- feeling no pain from doing so, just the same ghostly texture on his eyes.

Subject_14 took his final breaths quickly as the liquid rose over the top of him -- leaving his body completely underwater and the chamber nearly filled to the top. Subject_14 cared not for his life in this Facility. He let go of his held breath with an submerged sigh and watched as the bubbles quickly raced to the top. He struggled for a moment, and then inhaled the liquid -- letting it fill his lungs.

He gave a muted cough as the foreign substance came into his body.

However, Subject_14 did not feel like he had just inhaled water. His lungs felt full and functional -- as if he had just taken a deep breath. Subject_14 paused in confusion for a moment, then took another breath. He could feel artificial air -- liquid air -- filling his lungs. If he could breathe, then he could survive. Subject_14 let go of fear and simply waited -- idly taking in ghostly breaths of liquid sustenance.

The water completely rose to the top, finally filling the chamber. The inflow then came to a sudden halt. Moments passed as Subject_14 lay in complete unabridged silence -- slowly breathing in liquid oxygen. He was unable to hear any sort of noise, not even himself breathe. The feeling of isolation returned again -- a feeling he was beginning to enjoy.

His momentary crest of pleasure was cut off instantly by a massive noise. The sound of heavy, infinite vibration passed through the chamber -- shaking him to his bones. Subject_14 gave a silent scream as the sound penetrated his body. He close his eyes in pain -- the sound was not loud, but so bottomlessly complex that it agonized his mind to hear it.

He could feel the machine begin to move again as the sound continued. The liquid surrounding him amplified and reflected the sound in a never ending circle. In just seconds, he was nearly driven mad -- he could no longer form thoughts. Subject_14 could suddenly feel his mind shifting -- he could feel his body reorganizing. It was a devastating sensory overload -- his mind surrendered, and he lost consciousness.

-

Iota quickly awoke, and sat up with a deep inhale of shock. He paused for a moment as he ascertained where it was -- back in the ragged, abandoned house he'd found. A million thoughts quickly rushed to his head -- Blaziken, his damaged body, his enemies... and...

Iota looked down to see a faint glimmer of silver returning into his skin along his knuckles.

...whatever the hell he was.

He also noticed something strange -- or more accurately, a lack of something. He felt no pain where he had been injured. The man who tried to capture Blaziken had shot him though the side in during their brief conflict -- why did he not feel anything?

His formerly white shirt that he had tied around his waist to apply pressure to the wound was now splattered with blood. He slowly stood up from the old, dusty couch and began to tug at the crude knot he'd tied.

Upon removing the reddened cloth from his waist, he began to wipe away some of the blood that remained on his skin. He looked closer to inspect the wound. Puzzled by this strange lack of pain in what should be a grave injury, he carefully wiped the blood away from his skin and around the wound.

But there was none. Iota narrowed his eyes as he made sure what he was seeing was correct. His mouth dropped in reaction -- his wound was gone. He was healed. Iota was not unaccustomed to strange things, but this felt unreal.

Upon the thousands of questions he already had about his own body, this caused him to raise a thousand more. He looked once again to be sure -- using what was left of his shirt to clean the blood off of his side and stomach. There was no bullet hole, no wound, no scar -- not even a scratch remained.

Iota stood in a state of mild shock -- he hadn't even noticed the near freezing temperature in the room. The snow outside had subsided, but the blasts of cold air still flowed though the old house constantly. Not counting his bloody remains of a shirt, Iota only remained wearing his thin clothed, torn black pants.

Blaziken stirred. Iota had been so concerned with his own developments that he'd nearly forgotten about her. She still laid peacefully sleeping upon the old grey couch adjacent to Iota.

Iota narrowed his eyes as he began to think about his actions the day prior. He had killed a man to save her -- he cared not for that man's life, but rather, how she might react to it once she awoke. His reasoned that his brutal an unnatural actions the previous day would have probably frightened her a great deal.

He didn't care... If she was scared of him, perhaps she would leave once she woke up and he would be on his own again. He wanted this, he needed this. His development and memories had become too complicated for him to be in the company of others -- he had not an idea as to what he was capable of, and needed to test himself. Alone. He was a weapon, his memories had made that clear to him, and Iota wanted to be isolated in case he lost control.

Iota gave a meaning stare to the broken door, and the deathly winter outside. He couldn't leave, he wouldn't survive out there. The cold would undoubtedly kill him. He would be forced to stay close to this shelter for some time... as would Blaziken.

He cursed to himself. Iota wouldn't be able to separate himself from her immediately as he planned.

A thought suddenly occurred to him -- did he desire to leave her so that he could test himself in solitude, or... was he afraid of hurting her?

No... He wanted silence and isolation to discover his capabilities and limits, he decided. He told himself he was not concerned with her safety. She was a tag-along, an accessory -- he was not responsible for her safety.

"Mmm." Blaziken groaned as she began to awaken, still with her eyes shut. "Where are we?"

"Shelter." Iota said plainly, standing with his back to her. He carelessly tossed his former shirt on the couch beside him -- the bloody, torn up rag was useless now.

"Are we..." she began, sitting up slowly, and rubbing her tired eyes.

"Safe, yes." Iota finished, no concern present in his voice.

He braced himself for a barrage of questions from Blaziken. He'd torn though a Nidoking and a Magmar, then stabbed a hole though a man with a metallic weapon that came from inside of his body -- he knew she would demand an explanation. He wouldn't give her one -- for he didn't truly know why he was able to do what he did.

The storm outside had quelled -- so long as Iota remained close to the house, he would be able to last outside. He wanted to explore the questions that he had about himself -- and leave before Blaziken bothered him for answers.

"I need to go." he said sternly. "Stay inside, severe cold will damage a fire type."

With this, he made for the door -- or what was left of it after he had kicked it in the day prior. He not once looked back at Blaziken, nor did he explain why he was leaving -- not even if he was going to return.

"O-Okay," she said in mild, drowsy confusion, "I'll... just wait here then."

Before she could finish, he was gone.

------------------------------------------------------------

"Here we go! I found just the thing!" Rorak yell across the room proudly, walking back into the Gym from his office.

Ariston and Riolu waited patiently as Rorak returned with what he claimed would 'help Riolu begin training'. After gathering his healed and healthy Pokemon from the Pokemon Center and a quick reunion, Riolu and Ariston payed Rorak a visit to ask for advice on training her. His Gym was currently empty -- it seemed not many people were in the mood to train after a terrorist attack -- and so Rorak nearly leaped at the chance to begin training someone. He was especially excited that the 'someone' turned out to be Ariston and Riolu.

Rorak, looking the same as he always did, wore his familiar grey and gold jacket which was slightly left open to revel his black undershirt. The bandage on his cheek from his experience in Jubilife City was still present.

Ariston chose to conceal his injury before they left the Pokemon Center by putting only his good arm though his white-sleeved red jacket, and leaving his injured one underneath. It was certainly less conspicuous walking around -- besides, he preferred Riolu not have to be constantly reminded of his injury every time she looked at him.

The large, usually populated training ground seemed lonely without spectators and trainers everywhere. However, Ariston certainly found it nice to have the entire place to themselves for Riolu's training. She had nearly exploded with anticipation on the way over -- he'd never seen so much enthusiasm for a usually boring activity in his life.

Riolu eagerly awaited Rorak to reveal what he had retrieved from his office -- she could only wonder. He slowly came across the large Gym floor to the center, where Ariston and Riolu waited, carrying a wooden stool, and a small, unidentified object.

Riolu let her mind fixate on possibilities -- perhaps it was some sort of special Gym Leader strength amplifier, or maybe it was a unique potion for developing her abilities. Whatever it was... she knew it would be amazing.

"It might be a lot of hard work, you sure you're ready?" Ariston asked her quietly, knowing exactly what her answer would be.

("Of course!") she sent back mentally, ("I'll do whatever it takes, I can't wait to be strong...Like Luxio!")

Ariston knew she meant it, her body physically shook in expectation.

"Here we are," Rorak said casually, placing the stool in front of Riolu and Ariston, "we'll begin training immediately."

Riolu widened her stance, and let a smile creep over her face -- her ruby eyes focused only on Rorak.

Rorak placed the small object atop the stool -- Riolu immediately braced herself. Ariston, just as curious, was eager to see Rorak's unique training method. In the short amount of time they spent together in Jubilife, and during their Gym battle, Ariston had grown to respect Rorak largely as a person and a trainer. Ariston trusted him.

"...What." Riolu said more as a statement than a question as she finally discovered what Rorak had brought. Ariston raised an eyebrow as well, hoping for a good explanation soon. Rorak gave a laugh at their reactions. Both Ariston and Riolu considered this to be some sort of tasteless joke.

"This is..." Ariston started after a few moments of silence.

"...A can of beans. What...Not what you expected?" Rorak finished, sarcastic humor in his voice.

"Well, no... Not exactly." Ariston replied. Riolu, with expression of dissatisfaction on her face, looked over to Ariston, hoping for an answer. He gave her an unsatisfying shrug -- it seems that he was equally as confused. Riolu took a moment to take in Rorak's Aura -- it showed no signs of deception. This really -was- his special training program.

("Umm, Master?") Riolu asked mentally whilst inquisitively glancing at Ariston, ("He's serious.")

Before Ariston could respond, Rorak cleared his throat to begin speaking.

"What was formerly my lunch has now turned into the perfect object for you to begin training on, Riolu." he explained, quickly capturing Ariston and Riolu's attention.

"Okay, but...Why beans, Rorak?" Ariston had to ask.

"Less than a pound, low density, and a basic cylindrical and symmetrical shape make it an easy enough object to begin grasping with Aura." Rorak quickly explained. Suddenly the 'joke' had merit. Ariston and Riolu began to take Rorak more seriously now.

"Now, Riolu," he continued, pointing at her with a gloved finger, "without me explaining how, I want you to knock this can of beans off this stool. Can you do that?"

Riolu tiled her head and blinked a few times at Rorak as she processed the task. She pondered over it momentarily -- a can of beans was definitely not the high intensity, extremely exciting training session she had fantasized about, but perhaps they would get to that later. Suddenly, she came up with a solution -- a simple one.

Riolu confidently nodded in understanding to Rorak, and took a deep breath as she prepared.

Rorak raised his eyebrows quickly in surprise. He did not expect her to be ready without asking so much as a single question. Then again, he did not expect her to succeed on her first try either -- only one in a million Aura Pokemon would have such natural ability without any training. Ariston stood silently, impressed with his tiny Pokemon's confidence.

Riolu took two steps forward approaching the stool, and grasped it with her tiny hands -- shaking it gently until the beans fell to the floor with a dull klunk that echoed though the empty gym.

Rorak broke the silence with a sudden burst of ironic laughter.

"Haha, very funny, Riolu." Rorak commented dryly, picking up the beans off the floor and re-placing them on the stool. Riolu innocently smiled back at him -- she knew he wanted her to use Aura, but -technically- she had done exactly what he asked.

Ariston smiled, and laughed quietly to himself. Sending a mental, ("Good job") to Riolu.

"Alright, well, not -exactly- what I meant," Rorak continued, "but you have quite the clever Riolu on your hands, Ariston."

Riolu kept her smile and returned to her master's side as she prepared to try again.

"Now, -this time-, do it with out touching the stool or beans." Rorak explained. "I want you to use what's unique to your species -- Aura."

Riolu inhaled as she contemplated this -- seeing and sensing Aura came naturally to her, but she hadn't a clue on how to manifest it upon physical objects.

"Think of your Aura strength like a muscle, and this of this exercise as flexing it for the first time." Rorak continued. "When this 'muscle' gets strong enough, you'll be able to focus and concentrate Aura in larger and more powerful quantities -- but for now, moving this can of beans should be enough. It's going to be an unusual feeling trying to use Aura for the first time, but trust me, it will come easer to you as time goes on. Don't try and will the can to move using your mind or thoughts -- that will get you nowhere. Aura does not stem from the mind nor the body alone. Aura is a combination of body and mind that flows though out every living creature -- the native ability to manipulate Aura, however, belongs exclusively to the Riolu and Lucario."

Ariston and Riolu stood at attention absorbing the large amount of knowledge Rorak had to share. Both were somewhat suprised in seeing how knowledgeable Rorak was on the subject of Aura.

("He certainly knows a lot,") Riolu said mentally to Ariston, ("we're lucky to have him to teach us.")

("We are.") He replied, ("Do you understand what he's saying about controlling Aura? I'm kind of lost, does it make more sense to you?")

("I...think so.") She said hesitantly.

"So," Rorak concluded, "let the control start in your mind, recognize your will and ability to control it. Don't think you can, know you can. Then let the aura flow though your body naturally without trying to 'force' it. Hopefully all this will soon become second nature to you as you continue to use Aura."

As Rorak continued, Riolu closed her eyes to begin focusing -- attempting to feel the flow of Aura throughout her body, and to manifest it in a physical form. Beginning in her mind she concentrated on the will to mold Aura, and slowly tried to shift the feeling from her thoughts into her body.

"That's about all I can really tell you," he continued, Riolu already concentrating, "the rest is up to you."

Riolu felt a strange sensation inside her. The feeling was similar to a gentle spraying of ocean water all over her body -- quite calming to her. Riolu wondered if this was perhaps the presence of Aura beginning to emerge. She began to focus upon the feeling, and slowly sunk into relaxation.

Though the feeling of Aura was present, it felt quite feeble and frail -- not anything that contained force or power. It simply felt too gentle to have any strength behind it. Her body was covered in this strange sensation -- this Aura -- but she had not an idea as to how it could contain any power.

("Relax,") she heard as Ariston spoke to her mentally, ("we have all the time in the world to train you, nothing extraordinary has to happen now. Just do your best.")

As if sensing her doubt, Ariston's reassuring thoughts sparked relief in Riolu. Admittedly, she had worried about failure, and whether it would disappoint her Master. This uncertainty passed as quickly as it came upon hearing Ariston's thoughts.

Before she could even realize, the light dragging sound of aluminum scraping across wood captured her attention. Her small body was instantly filled with excitement -- perhaps she had succeeded. Quickly opening her eyes, and releasing her strict focus on her Aura, she happily looked for some evidence of her success.

Her eyes instantly focused on the ground, looking for the can she was charged with knocking off. Yet...She saw nothing on the floor. She looked up to unfortunately see the can of beans sitting atop it much like it was before. Riolu saw no change in the can's location -- her excitement quickly turned to disappointment.

"..It moved." Rorak said, unusually plainly.

Though Riolu started at the menacing can with contempt, Ariston immediately smiled.

Riolu turned around when she felt a familiar Aura coming from Ariston -- the same she felt when Luxio defeated Cranidos -- the wonderful deep blue Aura of Pride she had longed to feel for her own. However, the pride coming from Ariston did not feel deserved to Riolu. All she had done was budge the can. She wasn't able to do what Rorak asked, and she didn't accomplish anything deserving of pride. Yet, the feeling was present.

"You did it!" Ariston congratulated, the Aura of his pride for Riolu growing larger. "Not too bad, Right Rorak?"

Ariston's words never reached Rorak's ears. Rorak stood in an odd silence as his focus remained locked on the can of beans that had moved no more than an inch. His eyes seemed to be glazed over as he sunk into his thoughts -- Ariston immediately noticed this odd behavior from the usually energetic Rorak.

"...Rorak?" he asked again.

"Oh! Uh," Rorak said, snapping out of his momentary daze, "sorry, spaced out for a second."

Rorak knew that was a lie. He wasn't 'spacing out', he was in state genuine amazement. Asking an infant Riolu to influence anything physical so early in their development was a joke at best. The can had moved less than an inch, but moved nonetheless. He asked Riolu to do this in order to let her get a general 'feel' for Aura -- he did not expect any sort of results. Rorak knew that this type of Aura control shouldn't have developed for some time in recently hatched Riolus -- there was something remarkable about this one.

He looked down to see the curious ruby eyes of Riolu awaiting some form of praise.

"You did great, better than I expected, actually." Rorak said very generically. He didn't want to over excite the two by explaining how remarkable what Riolu just did was -- he wanted to observe her for a little while longer before getting their hopes up.

"I'm proud, Riolu." he continued with a smile.

"Me too." Ariston finished warmly.

Riolu sparked a smile once again, her eyes lit up in excitment. She could feel the genuine, deep blue Aura of pride growing from Ariston and Rorak. Though she knew she had not knocked the can off the stool as Rorak asked, she had made her Master proud. Perhaps she -had- accomplished something after all.

"Oh, and Ariston," Rorak said, breaking the momentarily silence, "I hope you can stay in Oreburgh for a while longer."

"Um," he started, thinking, "I suppose we could, right Riolu?"

His question was met with a content nod from his tiny Pokemon.

"Why though?" he continued.

Rorak quickly scrambled for a good excuse. The real reason was to see what unique developments his Riolu would experience as she continued to grow stronger -- but he didn't want to reveal this just yet. Not until he was sure.

"I think," he finally answered, "that I'd like to train Riolu for a little bit longer... if you don't mind. Quite honestly, it's because I see potential."

Riolu, looked to Rorak, then to Ariston, the back to Rorak again. Had she heard correctly? A Gym leader wanted to train her? Her heart jumped once again as she began to grow excited by Rorak's words. Apparently, she had what Rorak called 'potential' -- though she was unfamiliar with the word, she assumed it was good characteristic.

"Are you serious? That would be great!" Ariston answered with haste. To get such a powerful trainer to help his Pokemon would be amazing -- she'd become as strong as his other Pokemon very quickly with the help of Rorak. Besides, he knew that she would love some genuine training, especially with Rorak. Ariston decided he would stay as long as it took for Rorak to help his Riolu -- he truly wanted to see her succeed like she had today.

Riolu was suddenly hit with a blast of dizziness -- she quickly became light-headed as the room started to spin. She stumbled slightly in an attempt to remain her balance standing.

"Woah..." she said aloud as the dizziness began to pass.

"You okay?" Ariston was quick to ask, as his Pokemon struggled to stand.

"Y-Yeah..." she replied hesitantly, regaining her balance and stability, "...that was weird."

"Haha, I told you." Rorak chuckled. "You're using Aura now, Riolu. Like I said, you're flexing your Aura 'muscle' for the first time, it's going to get exhausted very easily until you strengthen it. I think we better take it easy -- can you both meet me here tomorrow morning?"

("You feeling up to it? Because if not it's really okay, we can alwa--") Ariston began to say mentally, only to be cut off.

("Trust me, I can do it.") Riolu interjected, her voice solid with determination. If Rorak was willing to train her, she was willing to learn. She didn't want to miss any opportunities to get stronger. Riolu simply couldn't wait until she was strong, and able to make her Master proud of her again.

"We'll be here." he answered to Rorak, trusting Riolu's fortitude. She seemed to posses an unusual focus on training herself -- he admired this quality in her.

"Good," Rorak said, turning around and heading back towards his office, "I'll see you here tomorrow then. 6 AM."

Ariston immediately opened his mouth to protest such a god-awful starting time -- Ariston was not suited for mornings -- but quickly silenced himself for Riolu. If she was willing to train, he would be willing to stand by her -- it was the least he could do while she pushed herself to become stronger.

"6 AM then..." he said to himself with a defeated sigh, as he and his tiny blue Pokemon walked towards the exit of the Gym.

Riolu contently followed behind him. She was stronger than she was when she entered the Gym, and she hoped for this result every time she trained with Rorak. She loved the feeling of making her master proud -- her excitement for her next session with Rorak was limitless.

("Oh, and Master?") She asked mentally, as a thought suddenly occurred to her. ("What Rorak said I had... What does 'potential' mean?")

Ariston gave a slight smile upon hearing Riolu's question. She tilted her head inquisitively as she waited for an answer. He gave a slight chuckle to himself as he thought of a proper response.

("It means...") he finally replied. ("It means you're going to be great.")


End file.
